


Across the Veil: Open Eyes (Book 1)

by Pat Auctor (cinnamon_owl)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, LGBTQ Character, Multi, Original Character(s), Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2019-10-26 02:25:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 41,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17737250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinnamon_owl/pseuds/Pat%20Auctor
Summary: Life could not have gotten more complicated for Willow and Moira.Willow was a university going student with her eyes set on the future. In her final year she found herself living with a group of students just off of the campus. They welcome her into their small, friendly family, but despite how much they care for her they can’t let her know about their true natures.Soon Hunters arrive in the city, threatening Willow’s friends and causing one of the Magical Courts to send their most dangerous asset to deal with them. Moira’s arrival in the city is all but good news for anyone, Magical or mundane. While Willow is concerned about protecting her new family, Moira finds herself dealing with protecting the Magicals of Ottawa and deciding the fate of a Human who has been dragged into something far bigger than they ever could have expected.And who said fairy tales were all about whimsical fun?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank my friends for their support and help with editing and reviewing this story!  
> Here is a couple of their tumblr names: Azzyfree-art (AZlegends on AO3), Zomoart
> 
> Updates will be every Friday by 6 pm EST!
> 
> Want to see more writing or art related to my work? check out  
> my tumblr: https://patauctor-writesandstuff.tumblr.com  
> or  
> my deviantART: https://www.deviantart.com/pat-auctor

        Moira crouched behind a large stack of logs that had been placed by the edge of a fence that sectioned off part of the Edward’s Lumber Mill. A couple yards away she could hear voices chattering and going over a list of instructions. She had been tracking the group for almost a week now, waiting for the best opportunity to swoop in and deal with them. Usually criminals were left to the local police, but when those criminals are Wizards who stole a tome for summoning spirits, raising the dead, and other lovely stuff like that… Well, Human police just weren’t enough.

        Moira was a Faerest. A special line of Fae. Whether that was a blessing or a curse depended on who you asked. Moira? She had her reservations about it. The plus side was that it essentially guaranteed her a place working with one of the Magical Courts in Ontario. So there was that at least. Working in Port Edwards with the local Centaur Court was a fairly decent gig to have. She had her freedom, for the most part, and she got along with the Queen of the Court’s family.

        She leaned out from behind the logs, peeking across the lumber yard to where a group of six robed figures had gathered. They were clustered around a small fire near the eastern wall of one of the mill’s buildings. The light from the fire was just enough for Moira to see some of their features. Young wizards. Probably not much older than Moira herself. She let out a quiet hiss when she noticed one of them had eyes that looked like orbs of onyx resting in their sockets.

        Carefully, she pulled out her phone and sent a quick text message.

        _The one on the far right, closest to the door. I think that’s where our Demon is hiding._

        She pocketed her phone. No need to check for a received message or response. She knew her friend was already watching from a vantage point somewhere nearby. She slowly got to her feet, still keeping low to the ground as she circled around the group until she was flush against the building they were standing beside. She looked around, taking in her surroundings as she decided on her next move. The large rusted dumpster beside her was empty, likely having been emptied earlier that day. She hummed to herself. That could be useful.

        Her ears perked up slightly as she heard one of the Wizards talking about wanting to “get the ball rolling.” She heard the crisp, crackly sound of a book being opened and pages being flipped.

        Moira took a slow, deep breath as she raised a hand. Her eyes gave a soft teal glow as the dumpster started to lift off the ground. Unfortunately, the dumpster creaked sharply and grated against the edge of the building.

        “Fuck.” Moira growled.

        “Who’s there?!” one of the Wizards called out.

        Moira slowly walked out of her hiding spot, her fingers tense as she focused on lifting the dumpster above the building without actually reaching out with her arm. Having a pointed arm as a focus usually helped, but in this case it was more important that the Wizards and Demon not be immediately directed to the giant, rusty metal thing that was slowly making its way over them.

        As she stepped into their line of sight, the onyx eyed Wizard let out a raspy, barking laugh. “Aw, a little Fae. Are you lost, girl?” the Demon’s voice grated past the Wizard’s vocal cords.

        Moira narrowed her eyes. She’d only met one other Demon before and her knowledge of them was minimal at best. The last Demon she met was more of an irritating trickster than anything else, but this Demon radiated malevolence.

        She nodded at the tome in the Demon’s hands. “You have something I want.” she stated simply.

        The Demon cackled, holding up the book which it kept pinched between two fingers. “This old thing? I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t let you have this.”

        “Good thing I never asked.” Moira stated, flexing her fingers and yanking her other arm back as if she was pulling on a string. One of the smaller logs that had been left in the lumber yard suddenly surged forward, hitting the Demon and slamming them into the side of the building.

        The tome slipped from the Demon’s grasp and landed a short distance away. The Wizards tried to dive for it, but Moira summoned it into her own hand with a gentle, coaxing gesture. The Wizards all froze, a couple shouting curses and making gestures that just would have absolutely disappointed their mothers. One started to pull out a gun, but before they could even cock it, Moira released her hold on the floating dumpster. It fell with the lid folded back like an open maw, landing loudly over top of the Wizards and trapping them.

        The Demon snarled, shoving the log away with enough force that it flew through the air and took out part of the fence. It started to run at Moira, feral, guttural sounds scraping and spattering from its host’s mouth. It got within a few feet of Moira when a large man appeared almost from thin air and grabbed it by the throat.

        Osriel yanked the Demon back, one hand holding its throat and the other resting on its forehead. His coppery gold eyes almost glowed in the moonlight. Above his head was a halo of red energy and swirling sigils that made his usually silver hair look warm.

        A few of the sigils glowed brightly as Osriel muttered an incantation. The Demon snarled in his grasp, trying to claw at Osriel’s face. It got in a single swipe before Osriel gave it a final, hate-filled look.

        “Be gone.” the words came out as hard, commanding sounds.

        The Wizard’s eyes lit up with pearlescent light as the Demon cried out. There was a brief, blinding flash of light and then all was silent. The Wizard in Osriel’s grasp had gone limp but was still breathing. The tall, older man set the Wizard down before turning to look at Moira.

        “Good work.” he said in a gruff, formal tone.

        “Eh, it was nothing.” Moira shrugged, “Nice work with that Demon. I’m glad you came along.”

        “I’m just glad you told me about this Demon instead of running off to tackle it yourself.” Osriel stated simply.

        _Ah, yes. As supportive as always_. Moira sighed through her nose, “Well, it would help if I actually knew anything about them… But alas, my **mentor** prefers to avoid any talk of Angels and Demons.”

        It was a gentle ribbing, but it was also clear that Moira was less than happy.

        Osriel glanced at her in silent contemplation. He looked like he wanted to speak, to give her an answer, but that look quickly vanished. “All you need to know is that you can’t trust Demons.” he said simply.

        “You trusted one.” she retorted.

        “And you should learn from my mistake.”

        “Honestly, I never even saw him do anything-” Moira was cut off as a limo pulled up beside the fence.

        The driver rolled down their window, revealing a fine Elven face, “Miss Woods! Mister Castillo! I have a visitor for you!”

        “Hey D’Sylver.” Moira grinned.

        Moira and Osriel watched as a figure got out of the limo and started to make his way over. Shawn Alistars. Prince of the Centaur Court of Port Edwards. He was a tall, elegant looking man with tanned skin. The horse half of his body looked like a grey Percheron. He held his arms out wide as he walked over to greet their pair, “It is good to see that you are doing well.”

        “Os gave you a heads up that we were wrapping up?” Moira asked with a small smirk.

        Shawn offered her a warm chuckle, “No, but I will get to why I am here in a moment.” He looked around at the fallen Wizard and the dumpster where a lot of angry noises were coming from, “So, what all happened here?”

        “Trapped the Wizards in the dumpster, got the book, and Osriel banished the Demon from our sleepy friend here.” Moira explained, looking quite content with how things went.

        “And no loss of life. I am glad to hear this.” Shawn said softly, holding out a hand, “I will take the tome so that it can be locked away in the vault.”

        “Mind calling the clean up crew to take in the Wizards too?” Moira asked with a grin as she handed over the tome. Usually such a casual tone would have gotten her a stern scolding from other Court members, but she and Shawn knew each other well enough that it did not matter. They practically grew up together in Port Edwards.

        Shawn tapped his chin in thought, “I suppose so.”

        “You are a gem.”

        “Ah, you might not think as much in a minute.” Shawn said, “I got a new mission for you.”

        Moira didn’t say anything. She simply gave him a curious look and waited for him to explain.

        “We have news of Hunters in the capital. A few of the higher up Hunters were spotted near Ottawa not long ago, and now there are reports of Hunter initiates rearing their heads. I want you to go and find out what is going on, and if you can… I want you to put a stop to whatever the Hunters are doing.” Shawn gave her a serious look, “Can you handle this? I know you’ve worked on your own before… But this is Ottawa we are talking about. Not Port Edwards.”

        Moira placed a hand on her friend’s forearm, “Shawn, I got this. I’m from the Ottawa area, so I know that climate fairly well. Besides… Hunters are Hunters. I’ve dealt with dozens of them before. This shouldn’t be a problem.”

        Shawn still looked a bit worried for his friend.

        “If I run into any trouble, I’ll call Osriel for backup. You know he can get to Ottawa faster than anyone in the Court.” Moira explained gently.

        Osriel gave a short, silent nod of agreement.

        Shawn gave a long sigh through his nose. He nodded at the limo, “Come on, Moi. I’ll give you the details on the way back.” He turned to Osriel, “Could I trouble you to watch the Wizards until my men show up?”

        Osriel gave a simple nod. He watched as the pair got into the limo and took off back towards the small city of Port Edwards. Something was not sitting right. He could not put a finger on what it was exactly, but something in the air felt… Uneasy. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, letting it rest between his lips. He would have a talk with Moira about it later before she left.


	2. For it is always clerical errors

The sun shone brightly as students wandered the university campus, many of which were new to the area and were still trying to find their way around the dense and maze-like streets. A few streets over from the campus was a series of townhouses that were often rented out by upper year students, which often times involved shoving as many people into the abode as possible in order to make the cost of rent more bearable.

A tall, strongly built man hoisted a box onto his shoulder before marching into the townhouse he and some friends had rented for their final year. He set the box down and looked around at the very, very old house. It creaked. It groaned. He was pretty sure there were a horde of creepy crawlies in the basement, but it was still better than living on campus. At least this way they would be able to get some sleep and have their privacy.

A shriek came from the basement, drawing the attention of the young man. He watched as the basement door swung open and a friend scrambled out of the darkness.

“Bruno! We need to get bug traps!” Blake practically shrieked.

A pair came up the stairs behind Blake, a young man and woman. The woman, Nina, gave a small sigh as she explained, “They saw a house centipede.”

“That thing is disgusting and I refuse to go back down there until it and its buddies are dead!” Blake frowned, dramatically folding their arms across their chest.

The man standing in the stairway gave Blake a sympathetic look before nodding at Bruno. “It is a little gross.” Vilis’ pointed ear twitched slightly as he glanced into the darkened basement, “We can pick up some traps later today after we get our stuff put away.”

“You’ll remember your disguise, right?” Bruno arched a brow, tapping the tip of his own ear with a smirk.

Vilis gave him a dismissive wave of the hand. They all had plenty of experience blending in with Humans, so the advice was not entirely necessary. It was nice not having to hide their features though. Another benefit of living in a house off campus. No surprise drop ins from floor supervisors and such. They had a few close calls in their first year and were not eager for more.

“Speaking of disguises… Where’s Savio?” Nina asked, glancing up the stairs to the second level of the house.

Vilis paused as something wrapped around his ankle and gently tugged him into the dark stairway. He yelped, whirling around to glare at a shadow that looked all too solid crouching on the upper stairs.

“Fuck you! Just for that I’m putting an iron doorknob on the basement door.” Vilis glared.

The shadow chuckled as it ghosted up the stairs and over to his friends. “Oh, come on… It’s not my fault you’re jumpy.” The figure teased, the shadows slowly fading away to reveal a human-looking man.

“Sav. Let’s give it a rest for now. We’re all really tired.” Bruno sighed and rubbed his eyes, “Has everyone chosen their rooms?”

“End of the hall, with the window looking out at the street.” Savio said, “Already got most of my stuff set up.”

“We’re taking the large master bedroom, as we agreed earlier.” Nina said, nodding at Blake and Vilis.

“Awesome. I’ll take the room near the bathroom, and that leaves the fourth room as… What? Game room? Study?” Bruno offered.

As the group began to plan out how they were going to organize their new living space, a key slid into the doorknob at the front of the house. The friends all stopped and looked at each other. When they rented the townhouse from the campus, they were told it would just be the five of them. So why the hell was someone trying to get into their house? It was probably just someone who was lost. They would figure it out when their key didn’t work.

Only the key did work. Vilis had just enough time to slip on a small golden ring with swirling vines etched into the metal. His body shimmered slightly before looking completely Human. The door creaked open, revealing a Human woman with a large box set at her feet. Behind her was an idling car which held a few more boxes of her stuff. She paused when she noticed the group in the hall giving her a curious look. 

“This… Is 504 King, right?” she asked, eyeing everyone carefully and wondering if she had just stumbled in on something important.

“Yeah? Sorry, we just weren’t expecting anyone else to be living here.” Nina explained.

“Really? I was told this is where I had been placed.” The woman explained, “Name’s Willow by the way.” She shifted slightly, “Want me to call up housing? Maybe there has been a mistake?”

Bruno suggested she bring her stuff inside in the meantime while they called the housing office for the campus. Willow’s mother sat in the car, watching as Willow called up the housing office on her cellphone. She put the call on speaker so everyone could hear the conversation.

After about thirty minutes of file shuffling and double-checking details, it appeared that there had been a clerical error and Willow had been placed at the townhouse. The woman on the phone offered to look for another available living space for Willow but explained that at the moment there were minimal options available.

Willow pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered a curse under her breath. Blake gave the young woman a sympathetic look before whispering to their friends, “We do have the space guys.”

It sucked. They had all been looking forward to having a Human-free space of their own, but it looked like that wasn’t going to be in the cards this year. Bruno tapped Willow’s shoulder gently, “Don’t worry about it. We have plenty of space, and it’s not worth jumping through all the hoops just to maybe find another place to stay.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry about all this.” Willow offered.

“Hey, you aren’t the one that made the booking error.” Savio replied, lowering his voice to a whisper, “Plus, what if they placed in a residence apartment?” He gave a mock shudder, “We can’t have that now, can we?”

Willow gave a small laugh, “Yeah… Last year I stayed in the residence on the west side of campus and… It was a time.”

***

Once Willow hung up, she began moving her boxes into the house. With a little help from her new housemates, she was able to get everything moved inside and upstairs in a matter of minutes. Willow’s mother had been especially eager to help move boxes and provide advice for living off campus. The young woman gave her new housemates apologetic looks from time to time as her mother began questioning them on their programs and plans for the future. Willow looked visibly relieved when it came time for her mother to leave. A brief farewell to her mother and soon she was left to tend to her own devices. As she and her housemates moved into their rooms she got to learn a few things about them. Savio was in his final year of his history degree, Blake and Vilis were getting a degree in theatre, Nina was in theatre as well but was more interested in managing and organizing events, and Bruno was working on his nursing degree. Blake, Vilis, and Nina had given the single bed from the master bedroom to Bruno, and in its place they had a large king-size mattress nestled in the corner of the room. It was covered with especially soft looking pillows and blankets.

Savio caught Willow glancing curiously at the master bedroom as she peaked out of her room. She looked over, noticing he had been watching her with a curious look of his own. She nodded towards the large room where the trio were now flopped in a pile on top of the mattress, exhausted from unpacking. “I take it they’re...?”

“Oh yeah.” Savio shrugged, “Hope you don’t mind that.” He watched her carefully, trying to gauge her reaction.

“Oh, hell no. I don’t care at all really.” Willow said with a reassuring smile, “I just didn’t want to assume anything.” She glanced down the hall at the large bedroom before looking back at Savio and smiling, “They seem sweet together.”

Savio nodded, his posture more relaxed now, “Yeah, it’s nice. Though they can get a little lovey-dovey at times… Thankfully they mostly keep it to their bedroom.” He laughed, “By the way, you might get a heads up from time to time that they will want some alone time. When that happens Bruno and I usually go catch a movie or something. You can join us if you like.”

“I will keep that in mind.” Willow said with a small chuckle. She was beginning to think this living arrangement was going to work just fine.


	3. Friendly Family

Books. Piles and piles, upon endless piles of books. Willow sighed as she sorted through the final set of books brought back to the campus library during her shift. There wasn’t too much to complain about working in the campus library. It was quiet, the work was easy, and the pay was okay, but Willow had found herself becoming increasingly restless during her shifts. At first the quiet and easy work was a welcome relaxing change, but now it had become monotonous.

She loaded up her cart and wheeled it to the elevator to put away her final load of the day. It was late in the day and the library was fairly empty, but Willow had a feeling that would change once finals began. She let out a small sigh as she wheeled the squeaking cart to the elevator and tapped the call button.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a bit of movement. _Probably another student looking for the information desk_. She thought, glancing over to see who was hovering by the wall. As her eyes flicked over to where the movement was, she caught a glimpse of a shadow receding into one of the study rooms. She hadn’t heard the door open though. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, she was far too tired. Once she got home, she would take a nap.

The elevator opened with a ping, allowing Willow to finally get in. As she tapped the button for one of the library’s upper levels, a familiar face suddenly appeared beside the elevator door.

“Boo.” Savio grinned, amused by Willow’s surprised expression. He stepped into the elevator, “Got you, didn’t I?”

“A little bit.” Willow conceded. As the elevator closed she shifted her cart, “What brings you here? Doing more research for that paper?”

Savio shook his head, “Nah, I got that sorted out already. Thanks for helping, by the way.” He gave her a polite smile as she waved off the thanks, commenting at it was no problem at all. “Blake is planning supper tonight and wanted to know if you were craving anything.” He added.

Willow hummed in thought as the elevator door opened and she stepped out, Savio following alongside as she weaved through the library. “I’m fine with whatever. Maybe something spicy? Kind’a craving spice today.” She offered.

“Sounds good to me!” Savio grinned, pulling out his cellphone and texting a message to Blake.

As they wandered through the library, Willow had been surprised a few times when she turned and saw Savio was still nearby, usually just down the aisle picking through whatever book happened to catch his attention. Of all her housemates, Savio was by far the quietest. Not to say he was very reserved. He was quite open and friendly with most people, but he seemed to have a knack for just blending in when he wanted. A few times she’d nearly ran into him while heading towards the bathroom at night. This usually ended in a sharp yelp for the both of them which would usually wake either Bruno or Vilis. Those two had ears like bats. Willow was willing to bet she could drop a pin in the basement and they’d still hear it from the top floor.

She jumped slightly when Savio tapped her shoulder, she hadn’t even seen him move from the corner of her eye. Again he grinned, ever amused by his ability to startle people with the barest of effort. “You look bored to tears.” He commented.

“Damn well feel like it half the time. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad job, but damn… It’s just the same thing over and over. I swear, I’m starting to have work-dreams about the Dewey Decimal System.” Willow said with a tired sigh, slotting yet another book onto the shelf.

“I know that feeling. Last semester I spent so much time researching Winston Churchill during World War II that he started appearing in my dreams.” He smirked and elbowed Willow gently, “Apparently Bruno came into my room one night ‘cause I was muttering in my sleep a lot, and when he tried talking to me,” he snickered, “I kept responding in my sleep as if he was Churchill.”

“Think you weren’t just going insane, bud?”

“I’m a history student.” Savio said as if that provided a full and comprehensive answer.

Willow laughed and shook her head. She paused when her phone began to buzz. She pulled her phone from her pocket and glanced at the screen with an unsurprised and nonplused expression.

“Mother dear?”

“Mh.”

“Twenty bucks says she mentions me again.”

“She mentions you every time she calls.” Willow gave him a wry look and a raise of the brow. The phone went silent for a few seconds before it began to buzz again.

“Is she always like this when she calls?” Savio asked, his voice taking on a more curious tone. He glanced at her phone, watching as she considered just turning her phone off until the end of her shift.

Willow took a small breath and pressed the speaker button on her phone, setting the phone on her cart as she worked, “Hey. Got you on hands free while I work.”

“I thought your shift was over by this hour.” Her mom’s voice came in over the speaker.

“Just doing some final running around.” Willow said, “How are things are home?”

“Same old.” Her mother replied casually, “Max called and said he's settled into his place in Alberta now. He'll be starting work next week... Oh! He’s got a sweet girlfriend now!”

Willow glanced at the phone as she picked up another book to put away, “Oh yeah, Amara I think her name is. Max mentioned her in a text message a few days ago. She sounds really nice.”

“You're all growing up so fast. Soon I’ll have a real empty nest.” Came a somber response which quickly turned into an upbeat tone, “And speaking of sweethearts…”

Willow visibly cringed and braced herself. Savio gave the woman a sympathetic look.

“You’ve been really quiet lately. Has anyone special been keeping your attention?” her mom asked.

Willow began to wheel the cart down the aisle, “Just school, mom.”

“What about that handsome man who helped with bringing your stuff into the house?” her mom asked.

“Mom, I have four roommates that could be called handsome. Hell, I think even Nina would be fine with that compliment.” Willow groaned, “But let me guess. This is about Savio again, isn’t it?”

“No need for a tone with me. I just think-”

“Mom.” Willow cut in, her tone stern and unmoving, “We have been over this. Savio is not interested in dating, and even if he was… He and I wouldn’t make a good match.”

“And why not?”

“Because I don’t want to date him? That’d be a pretty bad match if one person didn’t want to be in the relationship.” Willow took a deep breath as she neared the elevator, “You know… I have to ask. Why do you keep asking me about this stuff?”

“Well, it’s not unusual for people to find someone when they leave home, and I just want to make sure you are being safe and responsible.” Her mother replied.

Savio gave Willow a sympathetic look as her hand stopped just short of the elevator button. Her fingers slowly curled into a fist. Willow started to speak up, stating that she was being perfectly safe and responsible. With a tone that was probably more biting than she intended, “My priority, unlike others, is my education. When I find someone, great. Right now, though? I don’t care.”

There was a long pause on the other end before her mother spoke up again. “We can talk later when you are in less of a mood.” Came a curt reply before the call dropped.

There was a long silence that followed as Willow and Savio stood by the elevators. Willow muttered something under her breath about her mother always having to get the last word in. She jabbed the elevator button. As they got into the elevator, Willow kept her eyes locked forward and pressed the button for the main floor.

Savio shifted uneasily. It was times like this that he wished there were some shadows around to wrap himself with. He glanced over at Willow and caught the flat look on her face. Her expression held in a controlled but slightly irritated look. She glanced down at the cart and gently drummed her fingertips on the metal handle. Her eyes glanced around slightly as if distraught.

“Will? You okay?” Savio asked.

“I’m fine.” Willow replied flatly, “Just tired.”

“You’re always tired after talking with your mother.” Savio pointed out.

Willow slumped against the back wall of the elevator, “Why can’t she just leave me to my business? Why can’t she accept that maybe I don’t want a family like what she has? Or like what Mike might have?” She raised her arms before letting them drop to her side. Her voice was pained and confused, “I can’t tell her what I want in life, because she never seems to listen! Even when I am away from home, I still have to deal with this!” She glanced over at her friend, “You’re lucky your parents don’t give you a hard time.”

Savio offered her a sympathetic smile and a slight chuckle, “It shocked them, but they adjusted. It did help that I was able to openly talk to my folks about asexuality and stuff.” He glanced at her phone, which sat on the cart still. He carefully placed a hand on her shoulder, “Listen… If you need to talk, you know we’re all here for you. Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She nodded slowly before giving him a small, thankful smile, “I know. Thanks.” She took a deep breath, “I need to find a new job so I can afford an apartment in the city. That way I don’t have to go back home to deal with this nonsense over and over again.”

He clapped her shoulder, “Come on, now! Let’s get you home, get some good food into you, and then I think we should bust out the DVD player and watch some movies!”

Willow nodded happily. That sounded like a great plan to her. She pocketed her phone as she stepped off the elevator. She quickly wheeled her cart back into the drop-off room so she could clock out for the day and head home.

***

By the time she and Savio reached the house, Blake had cooked up supper. The smell of spices filled the house. The savoury scent made Willow’s stomach growl in anticipation. Blake smiled as the pair entered the kitchen.

“Oh, someone looks like they need comfort food.” Blake commented with a wink. They gestured at the oven, “I put some cookies on to bake.”

“You are a godsend.” Willow smiled with both exhaustion and appreciation.

“Aren’t I?” Blake chuckled before gesturing at the chairs around the small kitchen table, “Sit, sit! Bruno, Vilis and Nina will be down soon to eat.”

Willow plopped herself down into one of the chairs and felt herself relax as she watched Blake move around the kitchen. It wasn’t long until Bruno, Vilis and Nina came downstairs for supper. Nina and Vilis were happily going over details for their company’s current production which, if all went well, would be presented on campus towards the end of the semester before the winter holidays. Bruno looked tired but was happily talking about his nursing placement. Once he graduated, he was planning on working towards his master’s degree and, maybe, a doctorate if everything went well.

It was nice just sitting back and listening to the others chatter. It was strangely relaxing for Willow, just listening to the lively conversations. She had gotten lost listening to the conversations and hadn’t realized Nina was speaking to her until the taller woman tapped her on the top of her head. Willow tilted her head back and gave the woman an apologetic smile, “Sorry, you were asking me something?”

Nina’s eyes were fixed on her. The future Director had a way of reading people at a glance. It must have been especially useful when seeking out actors and actresses for her plays. Nina’s eyes narrowed slightly, brows coming together in a searching expression, “Something’s bugging you.” A statement, most definitely not a question.

“I’m just tired is all.” Willow said, “Tired, but enjoying the conversations.”

Nina glanced over at Savio, holding his gaze patiently and unwaveringly. Savio took a sip from his glass, “The old lady was giving Will a hard time again.”

Nina let out a sound of disapproval that bordered on a hiss, “I would love to have a word with her myself.”

“It’s not worth it. Really, Nina.” Willow said quickly.

Like a viper focusing on its prey, Nina’s eyes locked onto Willow before relaxing. She pulled Willow into a gentle hug, “Please. You’re worth it to us.” She released Willow just enough to make eye contact with the smaller woman, “But a word of advice? You should stand up for yourself to her. You’re not a weak mouse. We have a saying back home… ‘Even an ember can be a roaring flame’.”

“I’ve… never heard that before.” Willow replied simply.

Nina patted her shoulder, “It’s not a common phrase outside of my home. But my point still stands. You are a little ember, warm, comforting, but within you is the potential for an inferno. Don’t forget that, got it?”

“Got it.” Willow smiled.

“Good.” Nina nodded before taking a seat at the table, “Now, let’s eat!”


	4. A Hell of a Boss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! Just wanted to let you know I am updating the chapter posting times for Across the Veil: Open Eyes!  
> Chapters will now be posted every Friday by 6:00 pm EST!
> 
> But Pat, what does this mean for this week? Well, I am happy to let you know I will posting an extra chapter this week for Friday March 8th to kick off the new upload schedule!
> 
> Take care now!

The Blue Shoes. If you wanted music, fun, dancing, and a wealth of exotic shows, then The Blue Shoes was the place to go. Located within the heart of Ottawa, the venue was split between two side-by-side buildings. The larger building housed the burlesque stage, entertainment spaces, and a few rooms set aside for parties. The smaller building was a bar for patrons to come and drink, or for people to come and relax away from the high energy of the shows and entertainers.

For Bruno, Vilis, Nina, Blake, and Savio, it was a place where they could relax and be themselves, and work. No need for enchantments to hide their true forms. No worries about Humans. 

The Blue Shoes was a popular location for Humans and Magicals alike. Usually, such venues would be stressful for non-Humans who were supposed to blend in with Humans. Not The Blue Shoes though. The owners of the location had set up their own special enchantments on the buildings to create a sort of illusion for any Human that walked in. To the average Joe or Jane, it was just another bar and burlesque filled with regular Humans.

Bruno had taken his post by the door of the bar. He was one of the favourite bouncers. While he was a friendly fellow, he was built like a weightlifter. His boss had made a number of jokes when he and the others were first hired, saying that Bruno would never need to worry about violent patients while on a placement at one of the hospitals he was training at. He could just ‘Batista Bomb’ them into submission. It was a joke that Bruno responded to with a slightly unsettled chuckle. After a while though, he realized that was just his boss’ sense of humor. He hoped.

Nina helped plan out shows and events. It was not only great experience for her, but she enjoyed the variety that she was able to work with. She got a little taste of everything from planning, to set up, to lights, and she even worked on costumes when an extra hand was needed. Vilis acted as the emcee, but he also helped Nina with lights and setup. For Blake, his place was on the stage. He assisted with set up, makeup, and costumes, but he also took part in the shows a few times a month. Madame Celeste, their boss, never seemed disappointed with their work.

Savio stood behind the bar, watching as patrons came and left between the two buildings. For a shadow Fae, a bar was a welcomed space. It was dim and usually fairly quiet, except on nights when a big game was on. He could just sit back and enjoy the shadows, catch some gossip, and sometimes, if he was lucky, he could watch Bruno toss someone out of the bar. Bruno had a special way about throwing people out. He would first approach the person, speaking in an exceptionally polite manner and acting every bit a gentleman, and then if the person did not leave when asked, he would simply snatch them up and throw them outside like a half-filled bag from the waste bin.

“Hey, Savio!” a voice boomed behind him, making the shadow Fae jump visibly.

Savio turned and gave his boss a flat look. The man stood behind him having emerged from the kitchen, with a wide, mischievous grin plastered on his face. “Need something, Memphis?” Savio arched a brow, ignoring his boss’ cheeky grin.

“Rayne is pulling security duty for Celeste tonight, so I will be helping you out with the bar.” Memphis grinned broadly, “Aren’t you lucky?”

“The luckiest.” Savio said with a roll of his eyes.

“Damn straight.” Memphis said as he stepped up to the bar and scanned his gaze over the contents of the bottles.

Savio and the others didn’t know much about Memphis. Apparently, he had come to the city after traveling through southern Ontario for a time. From what Madame Celeste had said, Memphis came with glowing praise from a very powerful Fae. All that others knew was that the Memphis they knew now was once a foolish mortal who made a foolish deal with a very eager Demon. The mortal got the short end of the deal, as it often happened, and the Demon got his body. Demon or not though, at least he paid well and accommodated for school schedules. Plus he let them take home any leftovers from the kitchen. It was an especially nice bonus after the major holidays.

Memphis nodded at Bruno as he stood by the doorway, “No problems yet?”

Bruno’s ear twitched as he caught the question. He glanced over at Memphis and shook his head, “All’s quiet, boss.”

“Just what I like to hear.” Memphis said as he pulled up a chair and took a seat behind the bar.

The Demon poured himself a drink, taking a small sip before turning his attention to Savio again, “How’s everything with the Human girl? She hasn’t been snooping around you guys?”

Savio shook his head, “Will? Nah. She doesn’t pry.”

“Overheard Nina talking to Celeste about her. Rough spot?” he asked, more curious than actually caring. Demons cared little for Humans and their struggles. If anything, they were curious about them at best.

“Boring work and such. The usual.” Savio said.

“Bruno was asking me earlier if there were any job openings that he could forward to a friend.” Memphis gave the Fae a knowing look, “He’s not very subtle. Too honest in his intentions. Great for an Elf, but boy he would not make it with Demons.”

“He’s a good guy.” Savio stated firmly.

“Hey now, no need to get uppity.” Memphis said, palms raised in a playful surrender, “I like Bruno. He’s honest, which means I don’t have to worry about him sneaking around or trying to rip me off.” He took a sip of his drink, “Plus I don’t think I’d want to get on his bad side. Between you me? I kind of like this body and want to see it stay in one piece.”

“You’re a Demon. Surely you could handle an Elf.”

Memphis chuckled deeply, “True, but I don’t want to risk damaging this body.” He leaned back in his seat, “Man… I had a powerful body once. Could’a taken on the world with it.”

“What happened?”

Memphis pursed his lips, “I got the raw end of the deal and lost my chance to actually keep it. Bastard had to go and be all ‘self-sacrificing’.” He quoted with his fingers and rolled his eyes.

“They died?”

“Eh, kind’a sort’a. He lived in the end. Fucking tough nut to kill anyways.” Memphis shrugged, “I think he’s still kicking around near the border, running cases with the Fae gal.” He sat up, “But that’s for another time.”

“You didn’t like this guy?”

“Eh. He was fun to annoy. I liked his co-worker though. She was a stubborn, cheeky brat. She encouraged my antics.” He smiled, “Might invite her to swing by next time she is in town.” He leaned forward, a glint in his eyes, “Hey, maybe if your Human buddy gets nosey I can have a reason to call her in.”

Savio’s brows knit for a brief moment before realization hit him. His eyes widened as shock etched itself onto his face. When a Human found out about Fae or other Magicals and started getting dangerously involved in the non-Human world, powerful Fae would be sent out to see just how much of a threat the Human was. Sometimes the Human would just be left alone if they posed no real threat, other times they could have their memories erased. Psychic Fae were the only ones with the ability to do so. They were a rarity, even in the Magicals’ homeworld of Avalon, and were seen as one of the most dangerous beings. The ability to control minds could be a blessing or a curse, depending on who you asked and what end of the powers you were on. Savio had never met one, but he’d heard about them serving the various Courts of the non-Human races, helping to keep order, serving as generals, or acting as emissaries.

Memphis caught the look of fear and chuckled, placing a firm hand on Savio’s shoulder, “Eh, don’t worry little buddy. She isn’t a monster or anything. Heck, if anything she’s someone you’d  **want** looking into your friend.” He shrugged and sat back, “But I don’t see that happening any time soon, since your little Human friend doesn’t seem to be nosing about.”

Savio glanced over at Bruno, who was casting a wary glance at him and Memphis. It was a tough situation, having a Human around. If something happened and she found out about them, there were a few ways the situation could end. Usually the Court, or Courts, of the territory would get involved and try to assess the severity of the situation. At worst, the Human’s memories were erased and the Magicals were moved away from the Human to avoid further issues. At best though, there were circumstances where the Human would be permitted to continue co-existing with the Magicals they uncovered.


	5. Building a Magical's World

For as long as most people could remember, Humans and Magicals had lived in separate worlds separated by a veil of sorts. This veil was far from foolproof. It kept the worlds hidden from each other for the most part, but there was still the possibility for people to move through the veil into either world and back again. This fluidity of the veil resulted in many a Fae, Elf, Harpy, Centaur, and Drake to pass through and mingle with Humans.

Back, before the Courts, people did as they pleased. Some Magicals would take Humans back to their side of the veil to keep as family or servants, some Magicals were captured by Humans for many of the same reasons, and some beings made such an impact that Humans came to see them as gods and goddesses.

While the Courts had maintained their general stance of limited overt contact between Humans and Magicals over the ages, not every Court agreed on specific ‘limits’. Even in the Human world, each Magical had their own views on how much they wanted Humans to know about them. Given that it wasn’t always exactly safe being a Magical in a Human’s world, most took comfort in the idea of leaving Humans blissfully unaware of their presence.

Savio paused to look at his boss, who will relaxing on a bar stool. Memphis did not seem to care for the Courts. To be honest, the shadow Fae wasn’t even sure if Demons had ‘Courts’ to govern them. They seemed to come from a whole other plane of existence. Regardless, Memphis was fairly open on his views regarding Humans. They were entertaining, curious little things. He didn’t particularly dislike them, but he didn’t really care for them either. As far as he was concerned, Willow was just another Human thinking that they lived in a regular, plain old Human world where Fae and Elves were myths and legends.

Still… Savio, like the others, had wondered what would happen if Willow found out about them. The local Courts that held influence were the Court of Centaurs from Port Edwards and the Court of Fae, located in Toronto. The Court of Centaurs seemed quite fond of Humans and open to interaction with them, but the Court of Fae in the capital region were harder to place. 

Part of them wanted to let their friend know about who they were, but the other part also worried about what it would mean for the young woman. If push came to shove, they didn’t want her to have to choose between living as a Human and living away from the world she’d grown up in.

Savio tried to push the thought out of his mind. There was no need to worry at that time. Willow didn’t dig into their business, so she wasn’t at risk at all. Maybe in the future they would let her know, but right now they all had other things to worry about, namely work and school. The shadow Fae pinched the bridge of his nose, he was going to need something for a headache by the end of his shift.


	6. Trick of the Eye?

Hot water poured from the showerhead as Willow took a midmorning shower. Just as her shower was coming to an end she noticed that the water had stopped draining. It wasn’t surprising really. The old townhouse probably hadn’t seen a proper drain cleaning in ages. Just a few days earlier they’d had to get some drain snakes to clean out the kitchen sink’s pipes.

Willow quickly towelled off and got changed before she went fishing for the drain snake at the bottom of the bathroom cabinet. She knelt down and fed the metal snake down the drain until she felt it catch hold of something. The metal snake pulled free from the drain with a bit of force, pulling with it a thick mass of what looked like muck and…

“Oh, fuck me!” Willow yelped, dropping the snake and reeling backwards. She moved back to the door, opening it quickly and calling out with a hushed voice, “Hey! Anyone up yet?”

Vilis peeked out of his room, hair a mess and sleep still in his eyes. He blinked a few times, “Willow? You okay? You look a little green in the face.” The sleep cleared from his eyes a bit as he stepped from his room, “Are you sick?”

“No… It’s just… I found something in the drain. Can you see this?” she asked.

Vilis nodded, following her into the bathroom. His eyes widened slightly as he looked at the muck.

“I think those are… scales? Did the last person who live here have a snake?” Willow asked, voice a little shaky.

Vilis cleared his throat, “I have no idea… But yeah. Uhm… I’ll get rid of that for you.”

Vilis carefully picked up the piece of snakeskin and dumped it into the garbage can. He was going to have to talk to Nina about that once she got up. He glanced back at Willow and gave her a sympathetic smile, asking if she was okay. The woman nodded, but her face still looked a little pale. He moved to place a hand on her shoulder, “You sure you’re okay? Here, let’s get you to your room so you can sit down.” He led her into the hall, “Did the snakeskin really shake you up that bad?”

“More so the muck. It reeked… But the scales didn’t help.” Willow admitted as she opened the door to her room and stepped inside, “I should really clean it out… I don’t want it backing up into the tub the next time I shower or something.”

Vilis patted her head gently, like a brother to a younger sister. “ **I’ll** clean it out. You just get changed and focus on not getting sick.” He teased. He turned and started to move down the hall, glancing over his shoulder, “If you need a bucket, just let me know. Okay?”

“Geez, at this rate I’ll have to start calling you my big brother.” Willow replied from her doorway.

“Eh, another sibling wouldn’t hurt me any.” Vilis shrugged.

“How many do you have?” Willow asked, curiosity piqued.

Vilis paused to think for a moment, “Last time I was home? I had about five siblings, three of which were triplets.”

“Fuck.” Willow breathed, “How do your folks manage?”

“Coordination, family, and friends.” Vilis smiled.

“Sounds nice.”

“It is.”

***

Willow flipped on the television as she sat on the couch with a bowl of cereal. She figured she would listen to the news and weather forecast before running out to her classes for the day. Her housemates had invited her to come by The Blue Shoes after her classes to see one of the performances Nina had coordinated. Willow had known that her friends worked at The Blue Shoes basically since she moved in with them, but she had never been inside the establishment before. After hearing stories about the shows and goings on at the establishment, Willow’s curiosity only grew. A few nights ago, her friends came home from work with an invitation and a pass for her to enter for free. Apparently Madame Celeste and Memphis had taken an interest in her and wanted to meet Willow themselves. Savio figured it either had something to do with him mentioning Willow not being satisfied with her work, or they wanted to keep tabs on the Human living with their employees.

Blake flopped over the back of the couch, their chin resting on the top of Willow’s head as they looked at the television. “What’s the good word for the day, Will?” they asked, voice chipper as always.

“Sunny and cold as fuck.” Willow chuckled.

“Eh, I’ll take it.” Blake grinned, moving to sit on the arm of the couch, “I’ll come by the campus around four to grab you and Savi, and then we’ll head to The Blue Shoes. Still good?”

“Would not miss it for the world.” Willow grinned.

***

Six hours in the workshop complex. It was hot, it was long, but at least Willow enjoyed her time in the workshop. Plus the heat of the workshop sure beat the freezing cold of the winter weather outside. The professors had been merciful enough to open the workshop for a few extra hours so people could wrap up their final projects and models before the break. According to the news, there was a heavy snowfall coming which would make it hard for professors living far from the campus to make it to work. It was a fair trade off. A little extra work at school, and some extra time to rest at home and not worry about projects and assignments at home. Judging by the half-filled workshop, not everyone shared her thinking. 

By the time she and her group were done for the day, their skyscraper concept was nearly finished. They had decided to try and design a residential skyscraper which ran on mainly green energy, while also maintaining cost effectiveness. It had been a semester long project between the research and scrapped models they had come up with. Finally though, they were confident in their final product and were eager to present it during the final week of classes.

Willow and her team parted ways, eager for some well deserved rest and relaxation. She tossed on her coat and gloves, flipped up her hood, and made her way outside to wait for Blake and Savio. She rubbed her eyes as she leaned against the concrete wall. It was already dark out and she felt exhausted. She glanced over at a building just across the parking lot and noticed a flood of students leaving the building. 

Willow paused, squinting her eyes as she noticed a dark shape moving along the outside of the hoard of students, as if trying to sneak away. She blinked, it looked like a shadow but… It was too solid looking. She followed it with her eyes, watching as it made its way to the bike racks under a bridge that connected two other buildings. The shadow seemed to pause and look around before locking eyes with her. But that didn’t make sense. Shadows didn’t have eyes, and yet two green dots peered at Willow from the shadow’s head.

She quickly closed her eyes and shook her head. That didn’t make sense. She was exhausted and her mind was playing tricks on her. She opened her eyes and the shadow was gone. 

“Will?” Blake’s voice sounded beside her, making the woman jump.

“Blake! Geez, you scared the hell out of me.” She took a deep breath, “Sorry… I was just distracted.”

“You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.” They asked, eyes full of concern for their friend.

Willow shook her head, “It’s nothing. I just… Thought I saw someone by the bike racks skulking about.” She ran a gloved hand through her hair, “I’m exhausted… and hungry. I think my eyes are just playing tricks on me at this point.”

Blake furrowed their brow, glancing over at the bikes. They had seen Savio leaving the building in his shadow form, but usually Humans didn’t pick up on that. As if on cue, Savio emerged from under the bridge area on the other side of the road from the bikes. The Fae glanced at Blake as he ran over before turning a smiling face to Willow, “Hey there Will! Ready to head out?”

“I say we let Willow chill at the bar once we get to work. She could use some quiet and food before the show.” Blake said, giving Savio a slightly sharp and knowing look.

Savio pressed his lips into a firm, thin line. They were definately going to have a talk about this tonight.


	7. Deal with a Devil

“She what?!” Nina looked up, her grip on the papers in her hands tightening noticeably.

Blake raised their hands in a ‘calm down’ manner, “She isn’t taking it seriously. She thinks she’s just tired.” 

“Blake. She saw Savio!” Nina said, pulling a chair over to have a seat, “How? Humans aren’t supposed to notice Savio that easily! What… Did she say what she saw?”

Blake braced himself. Nina never did well with unexpected surprises. “I managed to get some information out of her on the way over. She said she saw a shadow with green spots for eyes.” They said calmly.

Vilis looked up, a concerned expression written on his face. “That’s… Fairly detailed for something she shouldn’t be able to see.” He stated, stepping away from the curtains and over to where his friends were.

All conversation fell silent as a tall, elegantly dressed woman stepped out from one of the backrooms and set her steady, observant gaze on the trio. They had little doubt that she’d heard them. Madame Celeste never missed a beat on anything that happened in her domain. She caught the concerned and hesitant looks from her employees.They did not know how their boss would react to a Human all of a sudden finding out about one of her employees.

Madame Celeste glanced over at a clock mounted on the wall. Giving them a calm, patient smile she spoke, “We can talk about this after the show.”

“Please don’t blame Sav-” Vilis began.

Madame Celeste ghosted her slender hand through the air, silencing Vilis’ fears. “Don’t worry, my child.” She said gently as she walked past them, “We can talk later.”

The trio gave each other curious, albeit more relaxed looks. She wasn’t mad. That was at least one good thing at the moment. Now they just had to hope that nothing else happened with Willow before they could all get home.

 

***

 

Memphis howled with laughter in the kitchen, earning a rather displeased look from Savio. Bruno ran a hand through his hair and sighed, relieved that Willow hadn’t made anything of seeing Savio and also mildly irritated by his boss’ nonchalant reaction.

“That is what you were worried about? That the Human gal saw you?” Memphis wiped a tear from his eye, “Buddy, she had one of the tamer reactions to seeing a Fae. Most Humans lose their shit at something like that.”

“What do we do though? How did this happen? She never noticed my shadow form before… Or at least no more than any other Human.” Savio explained.

Memphis threw his arm around Savio’s shoulder, “I know how it happened.”

“Really? How?” Savio asked, resisting the urge to elbow his boss in the gut.

“It’s simple, really.”

“... Yes?” Savio narrowed his eyes.

“I’m surprised you guys didn’t know about this sooner.”

“... Your point?”

“That for Magicals living in the Human world, you guys don’t know much about Humans?” Memphis teased.

“Memphis.” Bruno said, his voice firm and lacking any patience.

“You’re no fun.” the Demon pouted before standing up straight. “Like I said, it’s simple really. Congrats, you guys have bonded with a Human! They are now more perceptive for Magicals!” he explained in a voice akin to an old timey gameshow host, “But wait! There’s more! Humans, being the simple and malleable beings that they are, are easily affected by magic!” He winked, “If she’s already detecting you after a few months, I say give it a year and she could be casting spells like a real amateur.”

“Spoken like an informative ass.” Savio muttered.

“An informative ass that signs your paycheque.” Memphis corrected.

The two young men followed Memphis out of the kitchen. As Bruno passed the bar, he ruffled Willow’s hair and jokingly cautioned her to stay out of trouble. Savio stood on the other side of the bar, filling orders and eyeing Memphis as the Demon grabbed a seat beside Willow. There were no orders for food yet, so Savio couldn’t shoo him away from his friend.

Willow seemed friendly but cautious as Memphis introduced himself with flourishes of the hands and an exaggerated voice, claiming to be the ‘wondrous owner of this fine establishment’. She extended a hand and introduced herself simply as ‘the housemate’ of his employees.

“Tell me about yourself, Willow. You look like a gal with a plan.” Memphis schmoozed.

“Really now?” She arched a brow wryly.

“Yeah. You don’t get a tired look like that without having worked yourself to the bone.” He poked teasingly.

“Eh.” She shrugged, “I just finished a major project with my group on campus. I’m in civil engineering. I’m hoping to get into the construction industry, maybe start my own company some day.” She took a sip from her glass of water, “Right now, though, I just want to get through school and not strangle anyone.”

“She also did a one-year apprenticeship as a carpenter.” Savio added, chuckling as Willow flushed, “Aw, come on. You need to talk up your skills sometimes, Will!”

“There’s really not much to it.” Willow replied, “I got my apprenticeship, worked for my friend’s father’s company for about a year to save up money, then got into the engineering program at the university.”

“Sounds boring.” Memphis mused, “All that studying and reading, and bleh.”

Willow’s mouth formed a firm line. She took a small sip from her water, “I’m portable and adaptable.”

“And insulted.” the Demon grinned cheekily.

Willow held up her hand, fingers curled in except for her thumb and index, a large gap between them, “Little bit.”

Memphis grinned, “How about a little wager, hm?”

Immediately Savio and everyone in hearing range froze, watching Memphis and Willow. Bruno and the other bouncer glanced up. Bruno looked noticeably concerned, but the female bouncer seemed more curious than anything. Savio’s eyes shifted between his boss and his friend. He wanted to change the subject, distract his boss, tell the Demon to fuck off somewhere, anything to avoid his friend making a literal deal with a devil.

“What did you have in mind?” Willow asked, intrigue taking hold of her.

“Prove your skills to me.” He swivelled in his chair and gestured exaggeratingly at the entirety of his bar, “See this bar? It’s wonderful, I know. I’m so proud. You know what I’m not proud off? These old fucking boards. They are worn. They are tired. And frankly? I am tired of looking at them.” He gave her a sly grin, “I want you to redo this floor, and I mean make it look absolutely immaculate.”

“How much for the job?” she asked, brow raised and an amused smile tugging at the edge of her lips.

“Hm… Three thousand dollars.”

“For a perfect job?” Willow asked.

Memphis laughed loudly, “For parts and labour.” He leaned forward, “If you do it perfectly, I’ll double the pay….” He leaned back against the bar, “Pluuussss… I suppose Celeste and I could hire you on for more work around the joint. Plenty of things still need to be fixed, plus I could always use an extra hand on staff.”

Willow’s eyes lit up at the prospect. She caught the glint in Memphis’ eye and regained her composure, “I need a little more than an ‘I suppose’.”

“Oof. She’s good.” Memphis winked at Savio before turning his attention to Willow again. “Okay. If you do a perfect job and truly impress both Celeste and I… You’ll have a job here with us. You will be treated just as well as your friends.”

Savio hummed quietly to himself. That was a rather fair deal. Hell, it was a steal of a deal if Willow could pull through on her half.

“And if I don’t do a perfect job?” she asked.

Memphis grinned as he drummed his fingers on the bar’s countertop. “If you do an okay job you’ll only get the three thousand to cover basic costs, if you use materials that cost over three thousand dollars, then that’s your problem. If you fuck it up, I don’t pay you at all.”

Willow sat back in her chair and thought it over. It was really good money. Plus a new job would be a welcomed change. Without looking up she spoke, running numbers and plans through her mind, “I would need two days and two people to help me out with the installation, one day to assess the flooring and confirm measurements.”

“Ooh. Three days.” Memphis faked a wince, “That’s a long time.”

“You want it done right?”

Memphis grinned. He loved when Humans got bold. “I suppose I could swing it.” he stated.

“I’ll redo the bar’s door frame too. It’s looking old and weathered.” Willow said, “Consider it a freebie.”

Memphis frowned, folding his arms across his chest, “I put that in myself just last year.”

“Then it wouldn’t hurt to let a pro have a turn at it.” Willow smirked.

Savio nearly dropped the glass he was holding. 

Memphis sat up straight, staring down at Willow. He held out his hand, “Fine. Impress me, girly.”

She took his hand and gave it a firm shake, “Done and done.” She released his grip, “So… Got any floor plans for me to look at to get some rough ideas of the dimensions of this place?”

Memphis chuckled as he got up from his seat, “Oh, sorry. That wasn’t part of our deal.” He grinned mischievously, “I hope you have a good measuring tape.” He strode towards the kitchen, “You have two days to prep for your job. I’ll close up Monday and Tuesday during your winter break. When I come in Wednesday morning, I want to be impressed. Good luck.”

Everyone let out a collective breath as Memphis disappeared back into the kitchen. A few of the patrons exchanged bets about whether the Human could pull off the job or not. Most of the people did not have much faith in her. Memphis was a fickle Demon to say the least.

Willow picked up her glass of water, as she turned to Savio, “Looks like I have some calls to make tomorrow.”

On the outside Savio was giving her a friendly but cautiously optimistic smile. On the inside he was screaming.


	8. Ringing of a Bell

Willow had not gotten a chance to meet with Madame Celeste during the previous night, but she was hoping she would get a chance to speak with the woman at some point in the morning. She was planning on going into the bar and get measurements for the floorspace before any customers began to trickle in. Her housemates still couldn’t believe she’d taken the bet, but they were willing to help however they could. 

Thankfully, they turned out to be a wealth of information regarding the aesthetic preferences of the owners of The Blue Shoes. Madame Celeste was fond of a more classic style, strong hardwood with the natural features still visible in the planks. For a place called The Blue Shoes, the burlesque had more of a warm colour scheme made of reds, purples, and greys, with blue to serve as an accent. She wanted her space to reflect creativity and warmth.

Memphis, as one would expect, was all about the spectacle and splendor. The bar was a close replica of an old speakeasy from the 1920s. Low lighting, dark wood for the furniture and bar. Of course, he had included televisions and some art to fit the theme of his bar in order to liven up the place. Once a week he even had a live band come in to play some music. 

When Willow asked her friends why he and Celeste chose “The Blue Shoes” for a name, they explained that both owners had their own reasons. For Madame Celeste, the lively and previously-thought ‘radical’ style of Elvis had been something that intrigued her since she first arrived in Canada. Memphis seemed to love anything that stood as a middle finger to the social norm, and he seemed to take a true love in the idea that someone an older generation saw as deviant became a lasting symbol in music. A little bit of chaos to keep things interesting without it going evil and to shit.

Classic, stylish, flare, and a little bit of good ol’ attitude. Willow could work with that. 

As she strode into the empty bar, she was greeted by Memphis and the day-shift bartender. From what she’d heard, most of the staff circulated between the bar and the burlesque. The woman behind the counter grinned broadly as she walked over, “So, I take it you’re the one who made a bet with our dear ol’ devil Memphis.”

“Kind’a feeling like a deal with the devil right now.” Willow admitted.

“Ah, you’ll do great, sweetie!” the bartender said warmly, “You just here for business or…?”

“Will buying something help keep Memphis off my back while I work?” Willow asked with a smirk.

The bartender tapped the end of her nose, “You’re a sharp one. How’s about a tea to get you started?”

“Regular ice tea?”

“Not much of a party girl, are you?”

“I try to avoid drinking before six in the afternoon, especially when I have work to do.”

“No worries, sweetie. You do your thing, and I’ll have your tea ready soon.” the bartender said with a smile and a wink.

 

***

 

It had taken all morning but Willow had composed her own floor plan of the bar and double checked the measurements. As she went around the bar, she made note of the colours and wood used in the bar. It was spacious, but the floor, darkened from years of use, made it seem much smaller than it actually was.

She glanced up when she heard the bartender talking to some people in the hall that separated the bar and the burlesque. At the edge of the doorway stood an older woman with a dramatic but stylish dress with sleeves that looked like they’d been weaved from fine silk, and a young woman who Willow recognized as the bouncer from the previous night. Willow smiled and offered them a polite wave before looking back at her floor plans. She was already starting to plan out what wood she would need and some extra details for the flooring.

She practically jumped out of her skin when a voice spoke up from just above her shoulder. She turned and found the bouncer looking down at her, amused that she had gotten a start from the other young woman.

“I said, quite the layout you got there.” Rayne repeated herself, straightening her back so she stood at her full height of well above Willow’s head.

Willow cleared her throat, “I, uh, thanks. It took a while. Would have been faster if Memphis just gave me the floor plans, but hey… He doesn’t make it easy.”

Rayne reached down to pluck up the papers. She smirked as she caught a slightly tired and concerned expression from Willow. “Hm… Are you sure these are good measurements?” Rayne asked casually, biting back a chuckle as Willow gave her a displeased look.

“I measured everything twice.”

“If you say so.” Rayne replied simply, setting the papers down on the table.

“Rayne.” Madame Celeste said from the hall. Her voice changed slightly, the words were foreign to Willow’s ears as Celeste spoke, <Don’t tease the poor girl.>

<I’m just having a little fun with the Human.> Rayne replied with a small, cheeky grin.

Madame Celeste strode over, moving like a graceful breeze as she approached Willow and extended her hand, “You must be Willow. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I hope my niece wasn’t bothering you.”

Willow blinked in surprise before quickly taking Celeste’s hand. The woman had a stunningly soothing voice, almost musical like a chime. “It-It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Madame. My friends have told me a lot about you.”

“Have they? I hope it’s been good things.” Madame Celeste said with a graceful smile, “And please, call me Celeste.”

“Celeste. Yes. I can do that.” Willow said quickly. She shifted slightly, “Mind if I ask? Your accent. It’s really lovely. What kind of accent is it?”

Madame Celeste gestured her hand vaguely, “Eastern Europe.”

“Ah, I see.” Willow replied. It didn’t sound like any Eastern European accent she come across, but then again she had very little experience with any accent outside of North America.

Madame Celeste picked up the floor plans and hummed in contentment. “Very fine details. You have a good eye.” she commented as she looked over the floorplans.

Willow nodded politely as Celeste and Rayne switched into another language. Willow listened closely, trying to see if she could pinpoint any specific words. Nothing seemed to click with any language she’d heard of before, but then again her own library of languages was woefully limited for her liking. Still, it was nice to listen to. It was quite musical and soothing, and… chiming? 

Willow furrowed her brows as she glanced at the floor. She heard a faint tinkling, chiming sound as the pair spoke. That didn’t make sense though. Maybe the heat was making her feel faint? She had been working for some hours with no break. She felt her heart begin to hammer as a fear of fainting took over her. Before she knew it, Rayne had grabbed her shoulders and was easing her into a chair.

“Willow? Child?” Celeste asked, voice now clear and free of the chiming, “Are you okay, dearie?”

“I… Yes. I think.” Willow rubbed the back of her neck, “I think the heat was getting to me… For a second I thought I heard a bit of ringing in my ears...”

Celeste looked into Willow’s eyes for a moment before placing a hand on the young Human’s forehead. After a moment the older woman spoke up, “Why don’t you take a break? Have you finished your work for today?”

“Yes. I should be good with measurements for now.” Willow replied, slowly feeling her body relax again knowing she wasn’t going to faint.

“You just relax and finish your drink. I’ll have Memphis send out some food for you. Once you are set, Rayne will walk you home. Does that sound okay?” Celeste offered.

“That sounds great, actually.” Willow offered a small smile of appreciation.

Celeste motioned for Rayne to stay with Willow while she went into the kitchen to speak with Memphis. As she stepped into the kitchen, the bartender was getting some fresh glasses of water for Willow and Rayne.

 

***

 

Memphis glanced up from his magazine as he sat at one of the preparation tables. He arched a brow as Celeste strode into the kitchen, a serious look on her face.

“What’s eat’n ya, Celeste? Someone try to run out on one of your gals or guys?” he asked.

“The girl said she heard a ringing sound while Rayne and I were talking.” Celeste replied. The tone of her voice was was sharp and to the point.

Memphis pursed his lips and set down his magazine, “Huh. Guess she’s adapting faster than I thought. Not unusual, given that she literally is living with five non-Humans and has bonded with them fairly well. Plus this place is seeping with magic itself, so…” He arched a brow, “What do you say?”

“She’s a Human. She knows nothing about this and is trying to rationalize what is going on with her own Human-centred concept of the world.” Celeste said as she leaned against the counter. She pressed the back of her thumb to her lip as she thought. “She seems like a nice girl, and the others have really grown attached to her.”

“So, think we should let her know about the wonderful world that her kind can’t see?” Memphis asked.

There was a pause. “... Yes. I see no harm in it. If she really is as close with her friends as they say she is… I don’t think she’d pose a threat to any of us.”

“And if she does, I can just call in my friend to wipe her memories.”

“You say that so easily.” Celeste stated with a less than pleased tone.

Memphis rolled his shoulders, “Humans are Humans. If they can handle our worlds, then great. If not, then it is better they forget about us. Hells, at worse she freaks out and joins the Hunters, and like fuck am I dealing with more of them.”

“That won’t happen with this one.” Celeste stated, “I can feel it.”

“We’ll see.” Memphis replied, “So, when will she find out?”

“I’ll talk to Vilis, Blake, and Nina about it tonight. See what they have to say.”

“I’ll see how Savio and Bruno feel about it too.” Memphis said.


	9. Nose to the Grindstone

Those two days before the project were jam packed with phone calls and planning as Willow rushed to get things in order. Edmund, her friend’s father and her former boss, agreed to come up and help her. He had tried to find someone else who could join them, but no one was available during the winter break period. Willow had no luck recruiting from her classmates either. She couldn’t blame them though, they just wanted to go and see their families.

Willow now found herself standing in the middle of the empty bar, just the lights, fans, and a single television left on for some background noise while she and her former boss worked. It looked like whoever worked the night before had been kind enough to move the tables and chairs out of the way, and cleaned the floor.

Willow had the idea to have blue shoe prints added to the flooring to go with the ‘blue shoes’ theme and as subtle guides towards the bar, burlesque, and the corner where the live bands would play. The installation of the wood itself would take a fair amount of time, but it was the staining that Willow was not looking forward too. It usually smelled rather strongly, but she knew it was the best way to bring out the best colour for the wood.

The first day had gone very quickly. It took them almost no time at all get the boards in place, stain the prints, and begin to put the finish on the floor. They figured if they worked straight through the night they would be guaranteed that the finish would be dry before Memphis opened up next.

Around supper time the pair went into the burlesque to grab a bite to eat and relax. One of the staff had left their radio on, a few of the workers gathered around to listen to the news. They looked a bit worried.

“What’s up? You guys look spooked.” Willow said as she took a seat at a nearby table.

“Haven’t you seen the news?” one of them asked, a male dancer dressed in casual clothing.

“Not really. We’ve got a tv on in the bar, but it’s mostly for the music channel.” Willow explained.

One of the workers turned up the radio so everyone could hear. The dancer moved closer to Willow’s table to fill her in quickly, “Some psychos have been spotted running around the city. A few people got beat pretty badly, and one’s in the hospital.”

“Jesus…” Willow gaped.

The announcer on the radio spoke up, informing listeners that some of the attackers were still at large and a citywide hunt was underway. If anyone had any information on persons wandering the streets wearing an emblem of a sword haloed by a sun, they were to avoid contact and inform the authorities immediately.

Madame Celeste entered the room just as the news piece ended and the commercials began to play. She asked when Willow and her former boss would be finished, to which they said around midnight. 

“You can drive Willow home, correct?” Celeste asked.

“Of course! I’m not going to let her walk home and night with this shit going on… If you’d pardon my language.” Edmund replied.

“Good.” Celeste nodded before turning to Willow, “You’ll be in tomorrow to finish with the door, yes?” She waited for Willow to nod. “I don’t want you wandering alone. Can one of the others walk you here?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.” Willow replied. She could easily get one of them to walk with her to The Blue Shoes and stick around after.

Again Celeste nodded, urging them to be cautious with all that was happening.

“Why are these maniacs going around attacking people?” Willow wondered aloud.

“They are fanatics.” Celeste replied, a bit more bite in her voice than she might have intended. She looked Willow in the eyes, “They are going after people that they think ‘don’t belong’. I’ve… heard of them in the past. Same group… but they are never this bold and reckless.”

“They sound evil.” Willow stated.

“Try telling their sort that.” Celeste murmured before straightening, “Please, please be safe. I wouldn’t want anything happening to you or the others.”

“I promise, I’ll be careful.” Willow assured her, “And I will make sure the others are aware too.”

Madame Celeste nodded, “Good.”


	10. Open your eyes!

If Madame Celeste was scared, Willow’s housemates were terrified. None of them wanted to even set foot outside. The new rule of the house was if anyone went outside, they had to take at least one other person with them and make sure they had a working cellphone with a good charge at all times. Willow couldn’t really blame them. The whole city was on alert. Just that morning the police had confirmed two more arrests with one final suspect still at large.

Bruno and Savio had agreed to accompany Willow to The Blue Shoes so she could finish up her work. She had assured them that it wouldn’t take long to put the new door frame up and install the door.

They slowly made their way on foot to The Blue Shoes. As they approached the bar’s entrance they noticed a figure sitting on a bench at the bus stop just across the road. It wasn’t unusual to have people waiting at a bus stop, but something just wasn’t sitting right in Willow’s gut. The sudden tension in Bruno and Savio as they walked a bit closer to her made her think that they felt the same thing.

As they stepped into the bar they were met by Rayne, who all but hauled them from the bar and into the dimly lit burlesque. 

Rayne lowered her voice to a whispered hiss as she peeked between the blinds of the burlesque, “They’ve been there all morning.”

“Think that’s…?” Bruno began.

“Fairly sure. I called the cops a minute ago.” she replied. She bared her teeth, a chittering hiss escaping her mouth. Whatever it meant, it put Savio on edge.

Willow tried to get a good angle to see what Rayne was looking at through the gaps in the blinds. She froze when she saw the man at the bus stop making his way across the street.

Rayne grabbed Willow’s arm, her voice urgent, “I need you to trust me. Go into the bar and see if he will leave. If he gets aggressive I will step in… He cannot see us right now.”

“What? Why?” Willow asked.

“Just please trust me.” Rayne said, against the protests of Bruno who wanted to step in himself.

Willow peeked into the bar as the door swung open, spotting the man as he waltzed in. She offered a strained pleasant smile, “Hey there! Sorry, but this place is closed for renovations.” She gestured at the door frame on the ground and the freshly finished floor.

“I just wanted to see the burlesque is all.” the man shrugged simply, looking around the bar.

“It’s closed too. You should come back later.” she stated simply.

The man ignored her and continued to walk around the bar, taking in the sights and decor. “Fancy place. I would compliment the owner if they were here.”

“They are busy upstairs.” Willow lied, narrowing her eyes at the man, “Listen, I have work to do. You need to leave.”

The man gave her a slow, almost manic grin, “Ever notice anything… Different around here?”

Her heart was hammering in her chest. “It’s a bar. There’s several in this city. I don’t think it’s any different from the others.” she said with a flat tone, moving so she was always facing the man and keeping a large gap between them.

The man laughed, holding open his coat to reveal the sword and sun emblem, “I think there’s something magical about this place.”

Willow looked at him like he was insane, “What? Listen. You need to leave now or I will call the police.”

He removed his emblem and held it out to her, “Hold it. I think it will open your eyes.”

When Willow did not move, the strange man placed it on her door frame and stepped back. When she still did not move, the man frowned.

“Fine. Stay blind.” he huffed, swinging his arms open wide, “But this city won’t stay in darkness for long.” his voice began to rise, “This city will no longer be shrouded-!”

“Leave!” Willow shouted, grabbing her cellphone from her pocket and a hammer from the table, “Now!”

The man grinned as he took a step towards her, “I get it… You’re protecting them…!”

Willow raised her hammer to launch it at the man’s head when Rayne and Bruno shot forward from the short hall connecting the bar to the other building. Bruno grabbed Willow, tossing her backwards towards Savio. Rayne launched herself forward, grabbing the man by his lapels and throwing him towards the door with the ease of a child throwing a stuffed bear.

Madame Celeste was in the room in an instant, gun in hand and aimed at the intruder. The man cackled as the sound of sirens echoed down the street. He got to his feet, ignorant of the figure that was running past the window towards the open door.

“You don’t need a gun… What? Afraid to get your claws dirty?” he sneered.

“I’m not.” a voice growled from behind him.

The man started to turn when Memphis reached out and grabbed him by the throat. Memphis lifted the man into the air with one hand, and with an ease that amazed Willow. Memphis pulled the man close to his face, his voice a dangerous, rumbling thunder, “You’re no Hunter.”

The man choked out a quick and biting laugh, “Not… Not yet… But if I kill you I will be!”

The man pulled a knife from his pocket and drove it into Memphis’ chest, just below the clavicle. Willow let out a shriek as everyone else looked on in surprise.

Celeste lowered her gun and murmured under her breath, “Bad move.”

The Demon paused and glanced down at the blade protruding from his chest. He reached up and wrapped his hand around the handle of the blade, slowly pulling it free without a single wince. He looked up at the man in his grasp and grinned a wicked grin as he asked, “Oh, sorry, did you want this back?” He chuckled, a low and dangerous tone, “No? How about this? Just humor me. What’s as dense as your head, but a better conversationalist?”

The man struggled in his iron grip.

Memphis rolled his eyes, “You Humans are no fun.” He grinned, “Or you’re too stupid. Want the answer? You seem to be dying for it… Or maybe it’s because of my grip on your airway.” His eyes narrowed into slits and his sclera began to glow a fiery red, “It’s a brick wall.”

With that the Demon wound back like a pitcher and threw the man into the far wall. The man collapsed into a heap. Willow let out a sharp shriek, stumbling backwards a few paces. Her eyes flickered from the man on the ground and up to Memphis. It made no sense. Memphis did not look nearly strong enough to simply lift and toss a fully grown man, and Humans sure as hell didn’t have glowing eyes. Her mind raced as it tried to find a logical explanation, but nothing came. For a moment Willow thought he was dead, until a weak groan came from his body.

A small group of police officers stormed into the bar, weapons raised. Memphis simply looked at them and motioned for them to put their weapons down. “I got him.” he said while stretching his arm.

The officers looked at everyone in the room, pausing when they spotted Willow. One officer turned to looked at Memphis, Willow noticed the officer’s unusually pointed ears. She blinked, her body still trembling from Memphis’ display of strength. Glowing eyes, pointed ears… None of it made sense. Her heart hammered. This was all a bad dream… Or maybe she was hallucinating. The officer and Memphis had started talking, but the fear in Willow’s mind drowned out all noise.

“She’s....?”

“One of ours.” Memphis clarified with a bored tone, “She’s safe.”

The officer gave Willow a sideways look before focusing back on Memphis, “Does the Court know?”

“I have a Faerest coming now to look into the Hunters. They know about the Human.” Memphis stated simply, turning to look at Willow. He folded his arms, “Judging by that gaping expression… I think I called just in time.”

He took a step towards Willow, pausing when she began to tremble. Her breathing was shallow and her eyes were starting to glaze over. He grabbed her shoulders, snapping his fingers in front of her face, “Breath, kid!”

Willow blinked a few times and drew in a few shaking breaths. She met his fiery eyes before closing her own tightly, “This isn’t real.”

Memphis looked at Celeste, “Why do Humans have to be so damned stubborn?”

Celeste waved him away before placing her hands on Willow’s shoulders. Her voice was calm and gentle. “Willow. Child. Listen to my voice. Take a few deep breaths… And then open your eyes. Take your time, and tell me what you see.”

She took a few deep breaths bracing herself for when she opened her eyes. She never was a praying kind of person, but silently she wished to any high power that could be listening that she would open her eyes and everything would be normal. Maybe she would open her eyes and find herself in her bed with her alarm going off on the nightstand. Maybe a very real Human friend would be shaking her awake because of a night terror. Her body shivered as she slowly opened her eyes, hesitant to see what her world was like now. Before her stood Madame Celeste, only her eyes were a soft mauve. All four of them. Willow looked down at the arms that held her shoulders gently, and saw another pair of arms open wide, ready to steady her if she fainted. Shocking, yes… But the gentle, cradling hold Celeste had on her provided a little bit of comfort. As strange as Celeste looked, at least there was a sense of serenity that surrounded her. It gave Willow enough courage to look at everyone else.

Slowly, she glanced around the room at the officers who were busy detaining the strange man, and then at her friends. Savio and Bruno were looking at the ground, almost ashamed. She could see shadows ghosting across Savio’s skin and a faint green in his sclera. Bruno shifted uneasily, his long pointed ears drooping down. For a moment she wondered if she was truly seeing things and her friends were just scared for her mental health. Then Bruno reached up and nervously tugged at the edge of his long ear, hand raising slightly as if to cover it from her sight. Rayne stood off to the side, watching Willow with wary eyes. All four arms were folded across her chest. As the officers hauled the Human outside, Willow saw Rayne give the strange man a snarl, baring a set of long, sharp fangs.

Willow swallowed dryly as she looked back at Madame Celeste, “What are you? I’m not insane am I…?”

Madame Celeste gave her a soft smile, “No, child. You are not. Come, let us talk upstairs. I promise we will explain everything.”

Rayne hissed from the doorway, muttering to Memphis that a crowd had started to gather outside. Memphis rolled his shoulders, eyes blinking back into a more Human look. 

“Let the officers handle that.” he replied simply.

“And the media?” Rayne asked, eyeing a news van as it pulled up across the road.

Memphis sighed, “Closing the door and pulling down the blinds. I don’t feel like humoring them right now.”


	11. A New Perspective

Willow’s head was swimming still even after the police had long left and the bar returned to its quiet state. Savio had offered to stay with her in one of the upstairs room, acting as a familiar and calm presence to help ease Willow’s chaotic mind. He didn’t say much, choosing instead to simply remain close by. Willow had to admit, it was a comfort for her. Despite everything that just happened, she knew Savio and the others were friends. She knew they cared for her, and clearly they had very good reasons for not opening up to her about their world. Living in fear of other hunting you for simply existing… Willow almost wanted to give a bitter laugh. Some things never change with history she supposed.

The door to the room creaked open, revealing a tired looking Celeste. She explained that Memphis was busy cleaning up downstairs and dealing with the other staff. She pulled a chair over so she could sit beside the bed Willow was sitting on. Her voice was calm and soothing, “How are you doing?”

“Shocked… But it’s getting better.” Willow said, a faint tremble to her voice still. She picked at the surface of the blanket without being aware of her actions.

Celeste took note of the gesture but said nothing. “I would imagine you have questions. Are there any you want to ask?” she offered, hoping to both inform and distract Willow.

The young woman paused, as if trying to decide what to ask first. So many questions flitted through her mind like hummingbirds. Finally she decided, “What are you guys?”

Celeste gave a soft smile. “That depends on who you ask. Rayne, Savio, and myself… We are Fae. Beings of natural magics. Rayne and I are Fae of nature, which is why we look like spiders. Not all of us look like this. Some nature Fae have animal features, or bird features. Savio is a shadow Fae, so he can look like a living shadow. Our powers are limited to our specific… element I suppose is the best word.” Celeste explained, keeping the information as simple as possible. There would be time to delve deeper into the nature of Fae and the other races.

“What about Memphis? He isn’t Human.” Willow asked, sitting forward now.

“Memphis is… something completely different. He is what you Humans would call a Demon. I must admit… I don’t know much about Demons… All I can say is that they are a trickster race with no specific form. They can’t do anything to the Human world, but they can interact with it by possessing mortals… Or so Memphis says.” Celeste explained, a small chuckle escaping her, “You don’t have to worry about him though.”

“He’s a tricky ass, but he’s not evil… I hope.” Savio added in, content to see Willow opening up.

“If there’s Demons, are there Angels too?” Willow asked, eyes widening slightly.

“I would imagine… But no one has seen or heard of an Angel in a very long time. I don’t think there’s any left on this plane of existence.” Celeste said, almost sad at the idea.

“I see…” Willow said softly. She was silent for a moment before asking another question, “Have you guys… the Fae I mean… have you always lived in this world? You make it sound like there is more than one.”

“Fae, Elves, Drakes, Harpies, Centaurs… We all come from another world parallel to this one. Our world is called Avalon.” Celeste explained.

“Like the myths and fairytales?” Willow asked.

Celeste chuckled, “Myths and fairytales can hold certain truths to them. Avalon is like this world, only Magicals live there… And some Humans with especially strong magic. Witches, Wizards, and the like. Our technology is… well… not to sound proud, but it’s quite different compared to what you Humans have here. It’s technology infused with magic… It’s quite something to behold.”

“Do you have Kings and Queens?” Willow asked, looking like a curious and eager child.

“Some races, depending on their location, do have monarchies. The Fae had a Queen here ages and ages ago… But she has long passed. I do believe her heirs control a territory in Avalon though. Leadership is variable though… monarchs, patriarchs, matriarchs, elected leaders, leaders chosen by strength or wealth… One thing that is held in common are the Courts though.” Celeste explained. When she saw the confused look on Willow face, she continued on, “Courts, both here and in Avalon, are groups of Magicals, usually of the same race, who control a wide territory. They help supervise and manage sections of territories or provinces. They usually work in connection with the local leaders. Here, the Courts are more focused on protecting and keeping track of Magicals and their activities, as well as potential threats. Not all governments have Magicals working with them… Some don’t even know if there are Magicals among them.” Celeste paused to think up an example, “Let’s see… Toronto! There’s a Court of Fae in Toronto, but they don’t necessarily work with the political leaders in the city. They focus on Magicals and ensuring their safety, and the safety of the Humans around them.”

“That… makes sense.” Willow said slowly, trying to take in and make sense of the information.

“There are Greater Courts, but those are more… schools of thought.” Celeste leaned back in her seat. This was going to get a bit more complex.

“The Greater Court of Order, usually composed of Elves, maintains that Humans and Magicals are to remain separate for the protection of both sides. Even now, Hunters still roam about seeking out ‘threats’ that need to be eliminated. Members of this Greater Court usually remain on their own side of the veil and do not involve themselves in the matters of the Human world.

“The Greater Court of Change is the antithesis of the Greater Court of Order, and is usually composed of Fae. Fae had often mingled with Humans in the past, and this is something that this Greater Court wants to maintain. For the Greater Court of Change, contact across the veil is seen as inevitable and there are inherent adaptations that both Humans and Magicals have to make in order to co-exist. Despite the risk of Hunters, there are still Humans who want peace and forward movement rather than stagnation.

“The Greater Court of Ability falls between these two Courts. Long before the Courts, Humans had been blessed with their own unique abilities that bordered on what Magicals considered magic. Overtime as the races mixed and co-existed, it wasn’t uncommon for these abilities to grow and become more refined among the Humans. Some Humans can even be connected back to ancient ancestors from the other side of the veil. For this Greater Court, if a Human has the ability to contact the other side of the veil or prove their own magical abilities, then they can be permitted to exist among the Magicals with no cause for concern. This particular Greater Court has a keen interest in Warlocks, Witches, and other magically-inclined Humans. It is popular among Harpies and Drakes across the veil.

“Finally there is the Greater Court of Knowledge, another Greater Court that falls between Order and Change. This Greater Court is usually made up of Centaurs. For this Court, contact between the sides of the veil is not something they concern themselves with. It is not important to them. What is important is observing interactions as they occur, seeing where Humans and Magicals cooperate or conflict, watching how magic affects Humans and what the Human world does to non-Humans races.” Celeste took a breath, waiting to see Willow’s reaction.

Willow looked rather confused, but that was to be expected. It was a lot to unload and process all at once. She tried to verbalize some understanding, “So… Four Greater Courts… All with their own ideas about Humans and what’s important?”

“In a nutshell.” Savio said with a small chuckle.

Willow pinched the bridge of her nose, “That’s a lot to take in…”

Celeste placed a gentle hand on the young woman’s shoulder, “Take your time. It is a lot. Why don’t you take it easy, and when you are ready come downstairs? I am sure the others would like to see you as well.”

Willow nodded, saying she would be downstairs in a few minutes. She watched as Celeste got up and left, leaving her and Savio alone again. Savio looked much more relaxed, giving Willow a small smile when she looked over at him.

“We can talk about it more later.” he promised. He chuckled slightly, “I’ll put together some slides and lessons for you.”

“God, you sound like a teacher.” Willow teased, earning a laugh from her friend in turn.

 

***

 

After a few minutes, Willow decided she was ready to head downstairs again. She had no idea what Memphis would have to say about all this, but she was certain Bruno would want to make sure she was okay. He had looked so upset and worried before...

“You’re surprisingly calm and sane, given the sudden… changes to your perspective of the world.” Memphis said as Willow and Savio entered the main seating area of the burlesque.

“I’m just glad I’m not insane. Trust me, I’m still reeling from all this… But I am also relieved.” Willow explained.

“We wanted to let you know… But we didn’t know how.” Bruno said softly. Willow could practically hear his heart breaking. He bowed his head, “We didn’t know our magics would actually have an effect on you… I’m so sorry, Will...”

“Bruno…” Willow said, moving over to his side to hug him, “Don’t be sorry, please! It’s okay. I understand why you guys would keep this a secret.”

“You aren’t mad? Or scared?” Bruno asked, looking up from the ground.

Willow let out a small, short laugh. “I’ve lived with you guys for a few months. You’ve basically been family to me… I’m shocked, yes… but mad? No. And scared? How the hell could I be scared of you guys?”

Bruno smiled, breathing out a chuckle which almost immediately choked into a sob of relief. He quickly wiped away a tear, pardoning himself and saying he was just  very relieved.

Memphis mumbled under his breath something about an Elf with the emotional level of a Fae. To this, he earned a cross look from Madame Celeste and Savio. Rayne ignored the comment entirely.

Willow quickly chimed in, drawing Memphis’ attention,  “You said there’s a… Faerest coming to the city, right? They’re looking into these… Hunters?”

Memphis nodded, stepping forward to field this particular topic, “That’s right. See, Hunters are a bunch of pricks. They see our kinds as ‘affronts to nature’ or ‘an affront to God’, or whatever bullshit they want to get in a snit about. Usually when they start skulking about, there’s a few things that can happen. If they are in a big city, like this one, then usually there’s some division in the local police that are dedicated to dealing with them. If you aren’t in a big city, then usually a division is sent out of a nearby big city to handle it… But every time, the Court of the area sends its own people to deal with the Hunters. These people are typically psychic Fae, Faerest, who can erase memories, break minds, bend wills, and all that warm fuzzy stuff. It’s interesting watching them work, if I may say so myself.”

“And… They want to meet me to?” She looked worried. Who wouldn’t be though? It couldn’t be good if someone with mind-breaking abilities wanted to have a chat with you. Right?

“Yeaahh… It’s a formality, kid. Don’t worry, the gal coming into town likes Humans. You don’t have to worry about her at all. She just wants to meet you and see for herself that you aren’t a threat to any of us.” Memphis shrugged, moving to lean against a wall. A slow, dark smirk appeared on his face, “Though I can’t blame you. I got to see her break a mind once. Didn’t have the control on her powers that she has now, but still…” he chuckled, “With her control I am sure she can do way more damage. Before she just utterly broke with Hunter’s mind by overpowering it suddenly with her magic. Must’ve been messy in their because she looked mortified after.” He ignored the sharp, warning look at Celeste gave him, as well as the mildly distraught looks on the younger Magicals’ faces. He could see Moira trembling slightly and puffed out a bit of air that bordered on a laugh. “Trust me. She’s not as bad as other Faerest I’ve seen. I’ve seen Faerest that enthrall weaker minds, kill with reckless abandon and glee. Even saw one control a small swath of territory as a tyrant for a few generations back in Avalon before they were finally killed off. I think their head is still preserved in a museum somewhere.”

“And what happens to me now?” Willow cut in, desperately wanting to change the topic.

That was the big question. None of them had an experience or real knowledge about what happened to Humans who found out about the other races. Most of them only had experience with witches, warlocks, and the sort. They were Human, but the Courts accepted them for their magic. If Memphis knew anything, he didn’t seem inclined to give any information.

Madame Celeste spoke up, “Back home… If a Human found their way into our world, or if they were brought over and allowed to stay… Usually the magic would decide what happens with them.” She paused to think of a good way of explaining it, “Magic has a way of changing Humans. You’ve experienced it yourself. After just a few months of living and bonding with your friends, you can already see through disguises to a certain degree. Imagine that, but to a very high degree. Imagine that you were suddenly surrounded by it. You lived in a world where magic influenced and ran through everything. People, the world, all manner of life… Often times, if a Human has lived with a particular race long enough, they would start to take on traits of that race. If you lived with Harpies, you might start to grow feathers, or your hands would turn into talons… But,” she added, “magic isn’t always that simple. You’re own natural traits play a role in how the magic works with you. Certain races are better with magic than others, some specialize in a few specific forms… Take Savio for example. Fae are remarkable because we are so diverse in form and magic. Elves can use many forms of magic, but Fae are true experts in their own magic. With Savio, his magic comes from shadows. He is a being of shadows. This means that anything connected to the shadows or darkness, or to a stretch, night itself, is within his scope of power. He can’t, however, simply cast a fire spell or anything related to light.”

“What about you?” Willow asked.

Madame Celeste smiled proudly, “I’m a Fae of nature. I am intune with the natural world around me. I can sense and feel things that most can’t. Botanical magic is easy for me, but I can’t just control stone, or fire, or water, or even wind.”

Willow looked at her hands, “... Do you think I will change?”

“Given time?” Madame Celeste asked with an arch of her brow. She hummed in thought, “Maybe? This world isn’t like our homelands, so I cannot be certain.”

Memphis spoke up again, “Nothing we can do about it right now. Maybe my friend with have some answers when she arrives. Why don’t you head home and meet with the others? Eat, rest, chat… And when you come back tomorrow we can discuss your new job.” 

Willow’s eyes lit up. The prospect brought a bright, hopeful smile to the her face. Finally, something she could properly wrap her mind around. A job.

Willow followed her friends into the bar. Her doorframe sat in the middle of the floor. To her surprise, the floor hadn’t been damaged during the fighting, though there was some blood where the man had hit the ground. She tried to bring up finishing her work, but Memphis simply waved it away.

Once everyone had left, and it was just Celeste and Memphis left standing in the bar. The Demon took a moment to look around. He folded his arms and frowned, looking at the shiny surface of the bar’s new floor. He slowly stalked around the bar, eyeing the work carefully, even the stained shoe prints.

“You know what pisses me off about this?” he asked.

Celeste grinned, “She did a good job. It’s an amazing attention to detail. She brightened up the space, got it to blend with the accent colours of the bar, and the colour is a near match to the stage.” She stepped on one of the shoe prints, “Even the prints are a cute touch.”

“Yeah, yeah. The kid’s good… But now I’m out six grand.” Memphis huffed.

“You’re impressed.” Celeste grinned as she walked past him.

“Mph…” came his grunted response.

Memphis picked up a piece of the doorframe. He was going to have to put this up himself now. He eyed the top of the doorframe, closely examining ‘The Blue Shoes’ which was burned into the wood with a silhouette of Elvis Presley burned into the wood beside it. He paused when he noticed Celeste grinning at him.

“Depths of the void! Fine! I’m impressed.” he grumbled.

“You say that as if you weren’t already.” Celeste laughed, “I look forward to having a new employee around.”

Memphis frowned as Celeste left the room, leaving him alone in the bar with the final pieces of Willow’s project.

“Cocky little Human…” he said, a small smirk tugging at his lips as he shook his head.


	12. A True Family

Willow, Bruno, and Savio had barely entered the house when they were scooped into a tearful embrace by Nina. In the other room the television was broadcasting a news report about The Blue Shoes.

“Thank the ancestors you are okay!” Nina held them all close.

“What happened back there?” Vilis asked as he rounded the corner from the living room, “Are you guys hurt at all?”

Bruno patted Nina’s shoulder and motioned for everyone to go into the living room while Rayne locked the door behind them. It took a few moments to get everyone settled before Bruno started talking.

“First off, we are all okay.” he began, easing himself onto the couch, “Memphis arrived before anything bad could really happen.” He glanced up at his friends and took a breath, “The man that attacked the bar said he was a Hunter.”

“What?!” Blake paled.

“The police have the man, and Memphis called in a friend from Port Edwards.” Bruno explained quickly, “Right now, Memphis wants us to keep a low profile until his friend arrives to sort things out.”

Vilis shifted in his seat, eyeing Willow and shifting his gaze between Bruno and the Human as if to say ‘what about her?’

Willow offered a small, sheepish smile, “I know.”

There was a long pause. Willow motioned to Bruno, Savio, and then Rayne, “Elf, Fae, Fae… And my new boss is a literal Demon. Still beats the library though.” The attempt at humor did not break the tension unfortunately.

There was another long pause. Nina slumped back in her chair, running a hand down her face as she muttered in another tongue. 

“Memphis assured us that Willow is in no danger…” Savio interjected.

“And what about the Hunters? That seems pretty dangerous.” Nina frowned, her voice sharp as a dagger.

“She has a point.” Vilis added, “She might not need to worry about us, or people at The Blue Shoes… But what about the Hunters?”

Rayne sat forward in her seat, drawing everyone’s attention. “That is why Memphis called in his Court friend. She’s a psychic Fae and fond of Humans. She can help make sure that the Hunters are dealt with and that everyone will be safe.” Rayne explained simply. She smirked and nodded at Willow, “Besides, it can’t be that hard to keep an eye on this Human.”

“Is that a challenge?” Willow asked, brow arched.

“Please, no.” Nina sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose before looking back up at Willow, “How are you handling all this?”

“Shocked? Surprised?” Willow shifted slightly, “Wasn’t really expecting anything like this. I am unnerved about the Hunters and what that means for you guys…”

Yet another long pause of silence. Bruno and Savio looked a bit more relaxed, their previous fears of Willow having a negative reaction abated. Vilis looked pensive, as if trying to figure out the next course of action now that they had been revealed. He had glanced over to Bruno and then Rayne, as if trying to glean some hints from them but nothing was forthcoming. Nina also appeared quite pensive, though also unsettled. She twisted the golden ring on her finger, tracing the etching on the metal. 

Blake, deciding they were done with the silence, got to their feet. “Well, looks like these are useless now then!” they said with a flourish of their hand before removing an engraved ring metal band on their wrist.

Blake’s form shimmered before shifting into that of a large human-like bird with bright red and blue plumage. They stretched, wings nearly knocking over the television and Vilis at the same time.They grinned brightly as Willow gaped, staring fixedly at their wings. “Impressive, huh?” They flexed their wings before folding them back up, “I’m a pretty good flier.”

“Are you a.. Fae too?” Willow asked.

Blake laughed, “Fae? Skies above no. I’m a Harpy. Harpies, Drakes, Centaurs… We’re all part of the ‘Beast Folk’. We got some magic and are specifically tied to a single animal form.” They turned and looked expectantly at Nina.

Nina looked extremely hesitant before standing up. She toyed with the ring on her finger. Humans often feared specific animals: snakes, sharks, bats, spiders… She fiddled with the ring on her finger.

“You don’t have to.” Willow said gently. This looked like it was hard for Nina to reveal herself, and Willow didn’t want to see a dear friend that upset.

Nina bit her lip. She braced herself before pulling off her ring. Her form shimmered and changed before settling into what reminded Willow of a Gorgon-like being. Her scales were a mix of pale blue-green and gold. The top half of her snake body was a dark teal and gold-amber streaks ran down her body and arms. She waited in silence as Willow’s eyes widened, fearing that her smaller friend was about to recoil in fright. 

Willow’s wide eyes danced as she took in the iridescent scales of Nina’s body. She let out a small breath that sounded like a ‘ha’. It suddenly struck her that she’d been staring in silence. Nina’s tail had begun to coil and twitch slightly. When Willow looked up, she could see a thinly veiled fear in her friend’s eyes. 

Willow spoke quickly, wanting to allay any fears, “That… is so cool! You look awesome!” she beamed.

Nina looked up in surprise. A smile slowly appearing on her face as she breathed a sigh of relief, “You’re not scared?”

“Scared? Fuck no! You look so cool!” Willow grinned.

Vilis removed his ring next, but his change was less dramatic. His features were quite similar to Bruno’s. Long, tapered ears, and vibrant eyes. Vilis’ eyes went from a tame golden brown to a near pure gold colour.

“Damn…” Willow said as she looked at her friends, “Wonder if I’ll look like you guys some day?”

“Stick around us long enough, and who knows?” Rayne chuckled.

“Aren’t you going to show your form too?” Vilis asked.

Rayne shrugged as she got up, “Maybe later. I need to get heading back. I’ll see you guys at work tomorrow.”

“Please be safe.” Willow said, watching at Rayne started towards the door.

Rayne gave a small nod, offering a tiny fanged grin, “No need to worry about me.”


	13. First Day on the Job

Memphis sat in his office, feet kicked up on his desk with a notepad and pencil in his hands. He had been interviewing Willow for a short while, trying to get a feel for where she would work best. When Willow had first entered the office, she was all straight-backed, formal tone, but she was gradually relaxing. That was a good sign for Memphis. He hated having stuffy personalities working around him. Made it hard to have any fun.

“Can you cook?” he asked simply. While he originally planned to have Willow working as maintenance and construction, it never hurt to figure out the range of skills his workers had. Hells, maybe having an extra hand in the kitchen would would give him more time to slack off.

“Yeah? I can cook, bake… I make some mean brownies.” she offered with a timid chuckle.

Memphis laughed, “Kid, if you were anyone else I’d wonder what makes those brownies ‘mean’.” He twirled his pencil absentmindedly as he spoke, “What else?”

“Well, how fancy do you go with food here?”

“Try me.”

Willow pursed her lips, “I can roast chicken, turkey… I can whip up burgers… Fish. I can do fish to.” She paused to think for a moment, “Baking… cookies, cakes, pastries… I can make almost anything I think, and if I can’t, I look up recipes for it.”

“How about drinks?”

“I learn quickly.” she replied with a relaxed shrug.

A smirk tugged at the corner of Memphis’ mouth, “That’s good to know.” He sat up, practically leaping from his seat, “I’ll show you the kitchen.”

 

***

 

Willow followed the Demon downstairs and into the bar. Rayne stood behind the bar, while Savio was busy working in the kitchen filling in for Memphis. There were only a couple orders waiting to be filled. While Savio worked,  Memphis gave Willow a tour of the kitchen and a run down on how the equipment worked. 

Once Savio had completed his orders and Memphis was done with the tour, he ushered the Fae out of the kitchen. The Demon left, returning with a few order tickets. He placed them on the table beside Willow and grinned, “Show me what you got.”

“Wait… You mean now?”

“I don’t mean tomorrow.”

“I… uhm, yeah. Okay, I got this.” Willow said as she looked at the orders. She let out a small sigh of relief. They were simple orders. Mainly some fries and burgers.

She started heating up the pans and preparing to cook. When she turned around, Memphis had vanished and her small handful of orders had doubled in size. She felt her shoulders sag. The Demon was just fucking with her now.

 

***

 

Memphis sat contently at the bar, occasionally peeking into the kitchen to see how Willow was doing. Savio and Rayne watched him, occasionally piping in that maybe he should watch her more closely.

Willow stepped out of the kitchen with her first two plates, asking if she was to take them to the tables herself. Memphis waved off the notion and took the plates himself while Willow went back into the kitchen to get a third plate, which she also left with him.

The Demon set one plate down in front of himself before shoving the other two towards Savio and Rayne. “Dig in.” he said with a smirk.

“This… is your test for her?” Rayne asked.

“Consider it a test of quality.” Memphis explained, taking a bite of his burger, “Plus, I was fucking hungry.” He chewed his burger thoughtfully before looking at Savio, “How often does she cook at your guys’ place?”

“We rotate daily. So, at least once a week.” Savio said as he took a bite of his own burger. He hummed thoughtfully, “Yeah, she’s a good cook. She’s great with making comfort foods and junk.”

Rayne took a bite and paused, savoring the flavour “Damn.” She swallowed happily, “I need to come by your place more often then.”

Memphis nodded slowly, “Not bad. Not perfect, but not bad.” He took another bite, “Yeah. It’s acceptable. I can teach her some tricks to improve.” In the back of his mind, Memphis made a note of arranging some extra training for Willow. Though he would never admit it, he was quite content with her food… Or at least enough so to actually want her working in his kitchen. Given time and experience, he figured he could get her cooking like a pro.

“Go nuts. She’s probably absorb it like a sponge.” Savio chuckled softly, “She’s always trying to learn new recipes or variations of recipes.”

Memphis nodded again, taking another bite of the burger, “That’s good, because tomorrow you are training her to mix drinks.”

“She doesn’t have a license or certification.” Savio stated, eyes narrowing slightly. He did not like the idea of training someone without the proper credentials or anything that might land the bar in trouble.

“Consider it a head start.” Memphis shrugged casually.

Rayne nudged Savio with her elbow, “Don’t worry about it. I doubt we’ll need her as a bartender any time soon.” She popped a fry into her mouth, “Plus, if she wants to take a course, I can recommend one from the college on Aberdon road”

 

***

 

Once Willow had finished with the orders and emerged from the kitchen, Memphis motioned for her to pull up a seat behind the bar and take a break. Memphis commented that she was “adequate” in her pacing. She guessed that was his way of saying “good job”. She hopped into a seat and watched as Savio worked. 

She looked over at Rayne, “Did you take a summer course like Sav did?”

Rayne looked over from her work and nodded, “Yeah. We took the same course, actually.” She grinned playfully, “Want to know the trick to being a great bartender?”

Willow sat forward, looking very curious but also a bit amused by Rayne’s confident tone, “What is this great trick?”

Rayne was pleasantly amused by how curious this Human girl was. The Fae picked up a bottle and twirled it gracefully, “Putting on a show.”

Rayne grabbed a few bottle and a glass, putting on a show as mixed up a set of colourful drinks.

Willow leaned forward, watching attentively. She was really impressed. Rayne made it look effortless, and all with a small but pleasant smile on her face. She had slowly become focused on Rayne’s face, not realizing that the Fae had finished with the drinks until she gently tapped a cold, full glass against Willow’s knuckles.

Willow jumped slightly, taking the drink. Her voice held a mesmerized tone, “You are so cool.” Her eyes widened slightly and her face went red, “I mean your… your skills! Your skills are so cool!”

Rayne chuckled, “Well, my skills and I are flattered.” She cleared her throat, “You’re… a good cook yourself. You know that? I might need to come by when you cook supper sometime.”

Willow glanced up from her drink slightly, eyes shifting to Savio and then to Rayne, and then back down to her drink. She shifted slightly, glancing off into the seating area, “I wouldn’t mind that.”

“Charmed you already? Wow, and I didn’t even have to try.” Rayne laughed as she took a seat beside Willow.

“I’m… Sorry. I made this awkward, didn’t I?” Willow lowered her voice.

“Hey now, no you didn’t.” Rayne patted her shoulder, “What happened to little miss cocky? You okay, Will?”

Willow rubbed her fingers over the edges of the cold glass in her hands, “I’m… fine. Just… awkward. Sorry. I’m… not good at things like… things like this.”

“‘This’?”

“Trying to be all suave and charming.”

Rayne nodded slowly, “Not a lot of experience?”

“No. Been too scared to ever really try.” Willow admitted.

“Scared?” Rayne shifted closer to Willow, giving Savio a curious look before focusing back on the Human, “Why scared?”

“Well… I could never really ask a girl out while living at home.” Willow murmured.

Rayne’s eyes widened as she understood what Willow was saying. She set her hand on Willow’s shoulder, “I understand.”

“You do?”

“In a way. Yes. I couldn’t talk to my family about certain things either... I wound up leaving home a few years back and moving in with Aunt Celeste. Savio and the others were some of my first big supports outside my family.” Rayne explained. She looked pensive, and almost scared for a moment, before speaking up, “The Blue Shoes was the first real place where I could be me. All my life… I’d been a person who wasn’t really me.”

Willow said nothing, but simply nodded and waited for Rayne to continue.

“My parents… They’re members of a Court back home in Avalon… the world across the veil from this one. They expected me to join the highest ranks of the Court, like my father, and his father, and his father before him…” Rayne looked at Willow, seeing the spark of realization in her eyes. The Fae paused, looking at the countertop, “They wanted a son who would carry on the noble family lineage, become some great mage… I wasn’t that son. After years of fighting, I just left. Aunt Celeste took me in and offered me work. Ever since then… I’ve just been trying to live my life and be happy.”

Willow was silent for a long moment. Slowly, she reached out and placed a hand on Rayne’s arm, “Well…” She swallowed, “Well, I think you’re a really strong and impressive woman… And you’re parents are missing out on having a damn great daughter.”

Rayne looked at Willow, blinking back a few tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She let out a breath of relief and rubbed Willow’s shoulder, “Shit… And you say you aren’t charming. You sure a sweet little angel like you wants to be working for a Demon like Memphis?”

“Hey!” Memphis huffed, a content smirk appearing on his face despite his best efforts.

“I think I can manage.” Willow said confidently.

“Ha! There’s my cocky Human.” Rayne grinned, “Oh, and if you want to be more suave, I can teach you.”

“I’m up for that.”

“Good.” Rayne smiled, “How about tomorrow after my afternoon shift? I know of a great place nearby.”

“I- oh, uh, yeah! Sure! I’d… I’d like that.” Willow offered a small, timid smile.

Memphis smirked as he got up and started to stroll off. He just had to tell Celeste about this.


	14. Day with the Fae

Willow was positively giddy. Rayne had a few last minute tasks to attend to before ending her shift, which left Willow to hang out by the bar with Savio and Memphis. Savio could barely hold back a chuckle as Willow bounced her knee under the bar.

“I’m starting to think you’re nervous or something.” he teased.

“Just don’t get mushy around here.” Memphis stated, looking up from his newspaper, “We already have enough sappy personalities working here.”

“We’re- I’m not going to get ‘mushy’ or anything like that. It’s just a… night hanging out is all.” Willow replied, tucking one ankle behind the other in order to stop the bouncing.

“Yeah, right… And I’m Saint Mike.” Memphis said with a devilish smirk before returning to his paper.

She was about to say something, when she felt a tap on the top of her head. Turning around she spotted Rayne hovering over her.

Rayne grinned, “Sorry about the wait.” She held up an umbrella, “We’re supposed to get some snow and rain later, so I wanted to grab this really quick. All set?” 

“Ready when you are.” Willow smiled. 

“Don’t stay out too late. Have Willow back by midnight.” Memphis teased.

“Since when did you become my dad?” Willow smirked at the Demon.

Memphis shuddered at the concept. Him? Have kids? Not happening. “On the other hand, stay out all night.” He replied.

 

***

 

The place that Rayne brought Willow to was a cozy little comedy club a few blocks away from The Blue Shoes. It was a rather small building, enough to hold a small crowd of people. That night the comedy space on the main floor was packed wall to wall with people. The food was nice. Nothing overly fancy, just the usual bar food and drinks, but the atmosphere was amazing. It was cozy and it was friendly. Even when filled to the brim with people, it didn’t feel claustrophobic.

Between acts, Rayne would strike up conversations about life and how school was treating Willow.

“So what made you go into carpentry in the first place?” Rayne asked, taking a bite of her onion ring.

“I always enjoyed working and crafting with my hands. I did well in woodshop in high school and figured it would be a great trade to know. After getting the course done and working for a bit, I figured I would go and get an engineering degree and start up my own business… Expand my skill set and such.” Willow explained happily. “What about you? Why did you choose bartending?” she asked.

“I went into business and bartending so I could help out with the bar. Aunt Celeste has done so much for me, and The Blue Shoes is like my home… I figured I should do something for myself that would also help out my family here.” She winked, “Plus I get to show off.”

“Well, of course.” Willow laughed softly. She glanced at the table for a moment before looking up again, “Mind if I ask? What was it like coming to… here?”

“Ah.” Rayne said, chewing on another onion ring. “It was… interesting. It’s nothing like back home. It’s a lot… simpler here. It’s quaint. There’s no wild and exotic creatures and plants like back home… and even the technology is really different.” She leaned back in her seat, “It took some adjusting, but I’m happy. I have my freedom, a career, good friends…”

“Do you miss it though?”

“Sometimes. Yeah. I’ve thought about going back, even to visit… But I don’t know…” Rayne hummed.

“If you miss it… maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go and visit again? You don’t need to see your family… You can just go and take in the sights, maybe say ‘hi’ to old friends… That sort of thing.”

“Maybe.” Rayne nodded, “What about you? You plan on sticking around Ottawa?”

Willow gave a slightly dry laugh, “Well… It gets me away from my home… Plus the big city is a great place to open a business.” She tapped the edge of her glass, “I don’t really have a reason to leave. I’ve got work, friends, and potential up here… My folks aren’t all bad… But I do like the space and freedom.”

“So they really don’t know…?” Rayne trailed off as Willow stared into her glass.

“I don’t know how I would bring it up… My brother is perfectly fine with it… But my parents? I don’t know… They tend to be more traditional… I don’t know how they’d react.” Willow explained.

Rayne carefully placed an arm over Willow’s shoulder, “Hey… No need to worry about it now. It’s good that your brother is there for you. It helps… As for your parents?” Rayne was silent for a moment, “I would hope they would treat you well… If not… Well… Real family doesn’t treat a loved one like shit just because they love someone of the same gender, or how the identify.”

“Thanks, Rayne.” Willow offered a small smile, “You really are incredible, you know that?”

The Fae shrugged and laughed, “Well… I just do the best I can and try to keep myself in good spirits.”

“After all you been through, I’d say you are really strong. No wonder Madame Celeste always looks so proud of you. You never fail to amaze.” Willow smiled.

Rayne froze. Her eyes shifted slightly before she looked away, “Ah, damn…”

Willow jumped, “I- Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you-”

Rayne shook her head, “It’s okay. Really.” She brushed away a tear, “I’m just… not used to hearing that people are ‘proud’ of me. Aunt Celeste says it often, but she’s family so… I just assume…”

“Well, I hope you can get used to hearing it, because I’m going to start saying it too.” Willow stated assuredly.

“Pfft.” Rayne rubbed Willow’s arm, “Quit that.”

“Quit what?”

“Being so damn sweet. You’re giving me a toothache.”

The pair looked up as the lights dimmed and a new comedian stepped onto the stage.

“We can continue this little debate after.” Willow poked.

“I look forward to it.” Rayne chuckled.


	15. Faerest

Moira kept her eyes shut as the plane took off. It would be a couple hours before she finally arrived in Ottawa. She glanced out the window as the plane rose above the clouds. She really did love flying. Sometimes she wished she had been born with wings. What she didn’t enjoy was having to wake up well before the sun has risen. Oh, and Hunters. She was not looking forward to dealing with Hunter’s in the capital. And the Human girl. It had been a few hours before her flight when she got the message from Menticordon.

Moira felt a headache looming over her.

She glanced at her phone, which she had placed on airplane mode, and sighed softly. It would be a couple hours before she landed in the city. She would contact her aunt when she arrived. It was more of a formality and to make sure her aunt wouldn’t worry than anything else. Then Moira could get to work. 

In her mind she ran through her plans for probably the twentieth time since she woke up. She would arrive in the city, visit her contacts in the police department, and then hit up some of the local dens where Magicals liked to gather and see if she could get any information. Once she was done with her own reconnaissance mission, she would go and visit Menticordon… He was going by ‘Memphis’ now, right? She would need to be mindful about that. Demons rarely give out their true names, and when they did they expected people to keep them secret. Menticordon was no exception.

Moira rubbed the back of her neck, trying to will away a headache. She had not told her aunt or Osriel about Menticordon being around. For all they knew, Menticordon had been banished by Osriel after a series of daring adventures and mysteries that happened a few years before Moira was hired by the Centaur Court. On the one hand, she did feel bad not telling them about Menticordon when he had first contacted her. On the other hand, she knew Osriel would never let her go if Menticordon was involved.

That was something Moira never understood. Osriel was supposed to be a secondary mentor for her, second only to Catherine, Moira’s aunt. Despite this, he never explained anything about Demons or their Angelic counterparts. All she knew was from her own deductions and impressions. For Menticordon, she saw him as a strange, chaotic but not necessarily evil Demon. He was a shitster more than anything from what she had seen. Menticordon and Osriel had history, but Osriel never wanted to talk about it. At least Menticordon was willing to share some of his knowledge with her… Though whether he was direct or vague was up to whatever his current mood he was in. Right now at least, he was being fairly open and free with information. That made Moira’s job a bit easier. 

Moira glanced out the window and rested her head against the cool glass. It alleviated her headache a bit. She let out another soft sigh. Hopefully this would be quick and easy. Go in, deal with some Hunters, talk to a Human, and then back home to give a boring report on her mission. Easy peasy. What could possibly go wrong?


	16. Hunted

       It was late at night by the time the shows were finished. Willow and Rayne emerged from the club and decided to take the scenic route back to the university campus. Construction equipment lined the road, an absurdly common sight within Ottawa, as Willow had discovered. Rayne had joked that the main seasons in the city were taxes, snow, hockey, and construction.

       They had made it a block away from the club when Rayne suddenly moved closer to Willow. Willow started to look up when Rayne whispered, “Just keep moving, and don’t look back.”

       “What’s wrong?” Willow asked.

       “We’re being followed.” Rayne replied quietly.

       Willow tensed, her heart hammering in her chest. Rayne rubbed her shoulder, murmuring that is was going to be okay.

       The pair got to a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change so they could continue walking. Glancing out the corner of her eye, Willow spotted a figure hovering a few yards away, watching them closely.

       As they crossed the street, the figure gradually continued following far behind them. Rayne wrapped her arm around Willow’s, the movement hiding the fact that she had her phone out and was sending a text to Memphis.

       Willow glanced down at the phone to look at what Rayne was typing.

        _Left club. Followed. Going down Gretzky rd to Colonel._

       After a solid minute of silence, a message appeared on the screen.

        _Go into the park and wait. Help on the way._

       “He says go to the park and wait.” Willow whispered, every nerve on edge.

       Rayne narrowed her eyes, not sure why Memphis was telling them to just go into an isolated area. Maybe he was coming to deal with the person himself? That would make sense, if that were the case.

       As they approached the dense park space, they turned and wandered down one of the paths. It was uncomfortably dark, dimly lit, and quiet. Far too quiet for either of their liking. They glanced back and found no one following them.

       They started to continue walking when the figure emerged from the shadows a short distance away. The figure walked towards them, dark hood up to obscure their face. The figure reached into their pocket and started to pull out a knife. Rayne flinched. Even at a distance Rayne could sense the iron of the blade.

       The figure slowed their pace slightly, glancing up from under their hood with a wicked smile. They waved the blade slightly, “Something the matter, ladies?”

       “We don’t want any trouble, mister.” Rayne said with a glare, “What do you want? Money? We have none.”

       “Money? Oh, no my dears… I don’t want your filthy money.” He held up the blade so they could see the sun and sword emblem etched into the metal.

       Rayne’s hand clenched, coaxing the root of a sleeping tree to rise up and wrap around the man’s leg, catching him off balance. Willow’s eyes widened and her mouth gaped slightly. If she and Rayne weren’t dealing with someone trying to kill them both, she would have gushed over how incredible that display of power was. She was snapped from her thoughts when Rayne got up and grabbed her arm, tossing Willow onto her back before taking off across the park.

       Once they were a safe distance away, Rayne yanked off her necklace, her body shimmering and shifting into a strange humanoid spider form. She urged Willow to hop onto her back before taking off at full speed across the park. She could hear the Hunter chasing after them in the distance. They were halfway through the park when a shot sounded.

       A sharp pain shot up one of Rayne’s legs, causing her to topple over.

       “Rayne!” Willow cried out as she pulled herself to her feet and rushed to check on the Fae’s injury.

       The wound on Rayne’s leg wasn’t deep, but it looked like something had burned through the chitin. Rayne tried to push herself to her feet, “Will, run!”

       “Yes. Run.” the figure said as he stepped into view, gun grasped loosely in his hand, “You aren’t my concern.”

       Willow glared, refusing to move. Her limbs trembled as she stood up, blocking what she could of Rayne’s body from the Hunter’s view.

       The Hunter arched a brow before shrugging. “So be it.” he said, raising his gun.

       The Hunter leapt back as a park bench was sent flying in his direction. He stumbled backwards before raising his gun again. Pointing it at a woman who was wandering over, a look of fury painted on her face.

       As she approached, Willow made note of the woman’s short stature and short hair. Despite the freezing wind, the woman didn’t look phazed in the slightest. Her eyes glowed with a fierce blue-green light. Her hand shot out before yanking downwards, snapping a branch and nearly bringing it down on top of the Hunter.

       The Hunter barely dodged the branch before they were lifted into the air and hurled against a tree. The gun went flying from their grasp, landing a few feet away in the snow. The Hunter glared up at the woman, then their body flinched. They tried to move, but could barely make their limbs twitch.

       The woman knelt down in front of them, eyes blazing with magic. “Who sent you, Hunter?” her voice was calm and commanding.

       The Hunter spat out a laugh, “You don’t control me, you vile bitch!”

       The woman’s eyes narrowed, her magic pushing harder, making the Hunter spasm slightly before going rigid. Her voice was a dark tone, “Last chance. Tell me… Or I will find out myself.” She lowered the pitch of her voice, “Who sent you and where are the others?”

       The Hunter struggled, clenching their teeth tight and hissing as they struggled against the woman’s magic.

       The woman did not blink, did not shrug. She simply reached out, letting her hand hover in front of the Hunter’s face. From what Willow and Rayne could see, the woman was trying to exert some sort of control on the Hunter, but the Hunter was not giving in easily.

       The woman’s magic coursed from her hand and danced around the Hunter’s head. Her body was unmoving as she delved into the Hunter’s mind, searching for her answers. Despite her best efforts, the Hunter’s mind continued to fight against her, trying to force her out. With a final push his mind was open to her. Flashes of people, ceremonies, and Magicals flashed through her mind as she quickly sorted through the memories and thoughts. The images were fading quickly as Hunter’s body started to go limp. A final few images went spinning past her mind’s eye, all of them causing rage to bubble in her chest. Magicals cut down in fear, long chases, plots to capture whole groups of Magicals at once… These scenarios were a reality that the woman had long acknowledged. She hated them, the senseless slaughter… In a way, it almost made her job easier when it came to the less savory parts of dealing with Hunters.

       The woman twitched slightly as a foreboding, dark energy emerged from the Hunter’s fading mind. The darkness slowly took the form of a large Dragon. It was the size of a small skyscraper and its wings stretched out, as if ready to capture her in them. She gasped as its piercing red eyes fell on her. She instinctively released the Hunter’s mind, creating a semblance of distance between her and the Dragon within the Hunter’s mind.

       Willow and Rayne watched as the woman knelt before the Hunter, her body motionless but eyes wide with concern. None of them were aware of the world around them until Memphis came running over.

       “Ray! Will! You’re alive!” he gave a sigh of relief. He glanced over at the woman, “Moira?”

       The woman looked up suddenly, the glow gone from her eyes, and brushed herself off as she stood up and walked over. She looked at Rayne’s leg, bending down to take a look at the wound. She noticed the pair flinch away.

       She kept her voice calm and gentle as she spoke to them, “I promise you, I won’t hurt you. I just want to see how bad the wound is.”

       She waited a moment before looking at Rayne’s leg closely. Without looking up she spoke to Memphis, “Iron bullet. Do you have stuff to treat this kind of wound?”

       “Yeah. We should have stuff back at the building.” Memphis replied simply.

       The woman, Moira, nodded slightly before standing up, “Get them to The Blue Shoes and take care of them. I’ll wait for the police here. I need to speak to our guys before I see you again.”

       Memphis made an ‘ok’ gesture with his hand before moving to help Willow get Rayne back on her feet. He told her to put her necklace back on. Once Rayne resumed a Human form, he told her to get onto his back. It was easier to carry her around if it didn’t look like he was hauling around a giant spider. It was surprising how easily Memphis was able to quickly move around with Rayne on his back.

       Before anything else could be said, Memphis took off with Rayne on his back and Willow at his heels.


	17. This is how to care for Humans... Right?

Who knew iron was so dangerous? The moment they had entered The Blue Shoes, Memphis had rushed past Bruno, telling the Elf to get Celeste while he brought Rayne to a spare room. Memphis set Rayne down on a bed and ordered Willow to keep an eye on the Fae while he ran to get some medical equipment.

Rayne had removed her necklace, letting her disguise fade away so she could better examine the wound on her leg. The wound itself wasn’t deep, but it looked burned. There was still an audible hiss from where the iron bullet cut through the chitin. Willow couldn’t help but flinch as she looked at the wound, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Rayne shook her head, teeth clenched against the pain, “Not until Memphis gets back.”

“Will you be okay?” Willow asked, watching her friend’s face.

“I’ll heal. This is nothing.” Rayne hissed, “Just very painful.”

The way Celeste burst into the room made it seem like the wound wasn’t simply ‘nothing’. The older woman ran into the room, a glass bottle and rag in hand. She took one look at the wound and quickly doused the rag in the water before pressing it against Rayne’s leg. 

Memphis returned, opening up a large first aid kit filled it an assortment of salves and vials. Celeste motioned for Willow, instructing her to hold the rag in place while she went and grabbed a salve and a vial. 

Celeste grabbed a mortar and pestle from the kit, adding a bit of salve and some of the dried herbs before grinding them together into a thick paste.

Memphis moved forward, motioning Willow to back up so he had room to suture the wound on Rayne’s leg. He and Celeste moved amazingly quickly. Within a minute they had the wound closed. Celeste slathered the salve mixed with herbs onto the site before wrapping it with gauze. Rayne seemed a bit more relaxed, but still in pain.

“What did you put on the wound?” Willow asked, her voice quiet and hesitant.

“Spring water from back home. The magic helps counter the burning effect of the iron. The salve will help the healing process.” Celeste explained, cleaning up the first aid equipment.

“Will she be okay?” Willow’s eyes remained on Rayne’s wound. It hurt to see the Fae in such pain.

Celeste looked back at Willow, placing a hand on the young woman’s shoulder. A small, calming smile on her face, “Rayne will be just fine now. She needs to rest though.”

“Can I do anything at all to help?” Behind Willow’s eyes, Celeste could see that the Human was blaming herself for what happened to Rayne.

Celeste shook her head, “Not right now. All we can do is wait for Rayne’s leg to heal up.” She placed an arm around Willow, “This was not your fault, child. You did what you could to protect Rayne.” 

Willow looked down at the ground. She knew Celeste was trying to help, and that Celeste would never steer her the wrong way… But still Willow wished that there was something more she could do or could have done. 

Celeste motioned for Willow to follow her and Memphis out of the room, “I don’t want you going home tonight. I’m keeping you and the others here overnight. There’s rooms being prepared for you all right now.” She paused, noticing that Willow was fidgeting with her fingers, “Are you okay, child?”

“I’m fine.” Willow said quickly.

Celeste and Memphis exchanged looks. The Demon held up the first aid kit, “I’ll bring this back to the cabinet. Willow, you come with me. I could use some help downstairs.”

“Got it.” she replied before quietly following after Memphis.

 

***

 

Savio and Bruno were watching Willow carefully as Memphis ushered her into the kitchen. Both of them moved to talk to her, but Memphis waved them off for the moment. The Demon was very aware of Willow as she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt absentmindedly. Even when dropping off the first aid kit, she seemed to fidget with anything that came into reach. Magazines, towels, just about anything. Her eyes would always be fixed at somewhere distant until Memphis redirected her attention.

Memphis motioned for Willow to take a seat in the kitchen as he tried to think up what to do. Humans were such fragile creatures. Even after thousands of years of interacting with them though, the Demon was not familiar with the best ways of calming a shocked Human. Controlling and influencing? That was easy. Soothing? That was a new challenge.

He hummed thoughtfully as he looked around the kitchen. Moira was much better at this than him. What did she say in the past about shit that makes people feel better? Some enjoy company.

He looked over at Willow. Well, at least she wasn’t complaining about him being around. Then again, it didn’t look like she was focusing on anything that could have bothered her anyways.

Hot drinks? Maybe. The Demon glanced around the kitchen and spotted some boxes with various teas in them. Yeah, sure. That’d do just fine. He grabbed a bag at random, plopped it into a mug, and set to boiling some water.

A few minutes later he had a mug of tea ready and offered it to Willow. She glanced up, murmuring a ‘thank you’ before taking the mug in her hands. 

Memphis was at a loss. The Human was in no better condition than they were after leaving Rayne’s room. “I’m going to step outside for a minute, see if Savio and Bruno need anything. You sit tight and try not to spill any hot water on yourself, ‘kay?” he explained, waiting for her small nod before stepping out of the kitchen.

 

***

 

Savio was waiting at the bar. The building was much quieter than usual. Memphis guessed that everyone had heard about what had happened.

“Is she okay?” Savio asked.

“Willow? I dunno. She’s really quiet and not focusing. Shock, I guess. How do you snap a Human from shock?” the Demon inquired.

“Sometimes it just takes time.” Savio said, voice serious with no room to tolerate any dismissiveness from his boss, “She and Rayne could have been killed. Plus, a lot has happened in the past few days.”

“Mh.” the Demon hummed. He leaned against the wall, “What about you guys? Holding up okay?”

Savio paused and looked up. Memphis? Concerned about people?

“What? Don’t you go all distant on me too.” Memphis chided, catching Savio’s surprised look.

“We’re all fine. Just worried about Will and Rayne.” Savio replied. He shrugged, “And pardon me if I seem surprised. You never really give a damn usually.”

“Usually I don’t have to worry about my employees.” Memphis corrected him.

“Careful, people might start thinking you’re going soft.” Savio said jokingly.

“Gods and spirits help me.” Memphis sighed, rolling his eyes and stepping back into the kitchen.

 

***

 

It looked like Willow had maybe taken a sip or two from her mug. The Demon sighed, pulling up a seat next to the Human. They sat in silence for a long while, the Demon wondering what else could be done. Sure, Savio said it would take time, but Memphis was never one for patience.

“Is that… What you guys deal with on a regular basis?” Willow asked, her voice barely above a murmur.

Memphis looked up suddenly, surprised that she actually spoke. It took a moment for the question to register in his mind. He shrugged, “Sometimes. It’s not like we always have to deal with Hunters coming in and trying to kill us.”

“They’re really dangerous…”

Memphis nodded, “They specialize in hunting our kinds. You have to be dangerous to take on the magical worlds.”

A long silence again. “Will there be more?” she asked, a slight tremble to her voice.

Memphis pursed his lips. “There’s always more out there.” was his simple reply. He looked at Willow, who was fidgeting with the rim of her mug. “Listen…” he began, “This is a lot for a Human to take in all at once. This is a scary world to be a part of. It’s not always blood and Hunters, but that is something we face when living on this side of the veil.” He leaned back, tapping his index finger on his knee, “If you think this is too much, just say the word and I can ask Moira to erase your memories-”

“No!” her response was a full and bodily rejection.

Memphis raised his hands, palms outwards, “Easy! Moira wouldn’t do to you what she did to the Hunter.”

“No! I mean…” Willow shook her head, “I mean, I don’t want to forget my friends… I want to help them! I can’t just back away when I know they are all in danger!”

Memphis paused for a moment before a chuckle emerged from his chest. He shook his head, “You’d really put yourself at risk for some Magicals you’ve known for… what? Four months?”

“They are my friends.” Willow’s voice was stern, eyes hard, “My friends are my family. I would do anything for them.”

“Pfft.” Memphis chuckled again, “You Humans never cease to surprise me. If you told me some hundred years ago that Humans would actually want to help our kinds, I would’ve dragged your soul back to my world.” He stood up, placing a hand on Willow’s head, “We’ll see what Moira has to say when she visits. For now, you rest. Go to the burlesque, I think your friends want to see you.”

Willow nodded, getting up slowly with her mug in hand. She moved towards the door, pausing just before she left, “Hey, Memphis?”

“Yeah, kid?”

“Thanks.” She looked up at him with genuine appreciation. She was not sure how many Humans actually felt comfort or positive feelings around Demons, but was certain that at least for herself, this particular Demon was one she relax around. She almost wanted to laugh as she imagined Memphis as a ‘Guardian Angel’ of sorts.

Memphis chuckled as he leaned against the wall. “You mortals are awfully trusting of me.” he pointed out, more like a curious note than a critique.

“Should we not?” Willow offered in turn.

A fanged smirk flickered across Memphis’ face before vanishing again, “I just wonder about how you mortals go about trusting people. Personally, I think you can only trust someone when you truly know them.”

“Well… the Faerest seems to know you and trust you.” Willow pointed out simply, “And if she’s as powerful as you say she is… Surely she would know?”

Memphis said nothing as he arched his brow. He gave a low chuckle and shook his head. He turned gracefully and started towards the door, “Maybe?”


	18. Good ol' Uncle Memphis

It had been a relatively quiet day. The day staff had come in and ran things, which left Willow and her friends with little to do. They spent most of the day with Rayne, who was recovering at a remarkably quick pace. Whatever was in the salve Celeste used, it must have been potent. The wound was likely going to leave a scar, but at least the burning had stopped and the pain was little more than a dull throb.

By the time the sun was starting to set, Rayne had managed to make her way downstairs, despite the protests of those around her. Everytime someone suggested she rest, or if they asked about her pain, she would simply reply that she just needed to get up and move around. Just sitting around in bed was more irritating than helpful to her at that point.

Rayne had settled herself behind the bar with Savio and Willow. Memphis had been alternating between the bar and the kitchen, frequently glancing over at the front door.

It was a little after the lunch rush when the bar door creaked open and Moira stepped inside. She looked tired as she brushed the snow off her coat and made her way towards the bar. All the patrons in the bar had stopped what they were doing. Some watching Moira in wary silence, while other quietly whispered to each other. Even Rayne and Savio looked slightly on edge as Moira slowly walked towards the bar. She could head Savio take a slow, deep breath. Rayne flexed her fingers before gently drumming them on the counter behind the bar.

If Willow had to guess, it wasn’t common for Fae like Moira to just wander into a bar. Or maybe they could all tell what Moira was? Was that something they could do? She didn’t know, and frankly was a little worried about the answer. Maybe that was the case, because as soon as Moira was at the bar, Memphis emerged from the kitchen as if on cue.

He grinned at Moira as she leaned against the bar, “Wasn’t expecting to see you back here so soon. So, is this business or pleasure?”

Moira chuckled, taking off her scarf and setting it on the counter, “You know me.” She rolled her shoulders, a note of amusement in her voice, “Business is always a pleasure.”

Willow and the others watched as a table of tattooed, leather clad people with spiked wristbands exchanged looks before setting down some money and promptly making their way out of the bar. The bar was filled with a tense silence. Moira glanced back as the patrons left. 

“Oh, shit…” she offered an apologetic look and chuckle as she looked back at Memphis, “Did I just scare your customers off?”

“Not every day we get a mind-melter in here.” Memphis teased.

Moira gave him a tired look, “That’s not funny.”

“It’s true though.”

“True. But not funny.” She glanced at the small hallway connecting the bar and the burlesque, “Could I speak to you and Celeste? I need information.”

Memphis arched a brow. He looked at Moira for a moment before something shifted in his eyes, as if he understood that this was something really important. He nodded, “Give me a sec. I’ll go get her.”

Moira took a seat at the bar, asking only for a glass of water while she waited for Memphis to return. She looked over at Rayne, glancing at the younger Fae’s injured leg as she asked, “How are you fairing?”

Rayne shrugged, shifting slightly in a way that Moira could tell meant she was still rather sore, “Okay for the most part.”

Willow shifted uneasily as Moira set her eyes on her. The Faerest watched her with calm, passive eyes. It was as if Moira was trying to get a feel for what was going on in Willow’s mind.

“You’re scared of me.” Moira said softly, “I am sorry for that. If it helps, I have no plans to cause you any trouble.”

“I’m not-” Willow began.

Moira waved away the argument, “It’s fine. Really. You’re not the first, and not the last. Wanna know a secret?” She waited for Willow to nod before leaning forward slightly, her voice a loud whisper, “I was scared of myself at one point.”

“Really?”

Moira nodded, taking a sip from her glass of water. She kept it simple as she explained that powers like hers were not simply something that one could control from birth. It took years of training. She was lucky that she had a mentor within her own family, an Aunt, who helped her train and learn to control her powers.

“I always knew I was dangerous because of my power… But it didn’t really hit me until the first time I…” She paused and swirled the water in her glass, “I broke someone’s mind.” She looked up again after a moment, “It’s an incredible power. A terrible power… But I have learned to control it, and I constantly look to improve my control and skills.” She looked off, her eyes distant as she spoke, “Apparently there are Faerest with other psychic abilities… Conjurers, Fae that can project themselves like Demons…” She looked at her water. 

Moira was probably the most dangerous person in the room at the moment, and this seemed to be a fact that she knew very well.

“So… that Hunter is…?” Willow began, her voice trailing off.

“Dead? Yes.” Moira nodded, “I took no pleasure in it… But it was their life, or your guys’ lives, and even the lives of other Magicals.”

“You have impressive power, miss.” Rayne chimed in, “Thank you for saving us.”

Moira smiled, “You are welcome. And I must say, you two are both very brave for facing that Hunter.” She looked over at Willow, “You were willing to risk your life to protect one of our own. As far as I’m concerned, you are a perfectly safe Human to have knowing about us.” There was a pause, “As long as that is something you still want.”

Willow nodded quickly, “I already spoke to Memphis about this yesterday. I want to help my friends.” She smiled slightly, “He’s rough around the edges, but he seems nice. He really helped me yesterday.”

“Men- Memphis? Really now?” Moira mentally scolded herself for that near slip. She quickly brushed it away, keeping an amused look on her face, “Don’t tell me the Demon’s going soft now.”

“Like fuck I would.” Memphis’ voice cut in.

The Demon and Celeste were standing at the edge of the hall. Celeste looked amused as Memphis tried to maintain a look of ‘I don’t give a fuck’. 

Moira openly chuckled, “Gods forbid anyone think you have a heart.”

“My heart is shrivelled and fueled by chaos and a good, strong drink.” Memphis smirked, a flicker of energy behind his eyes.

“Right… So, should your staff start calling you Uncle Memphis now?” the Faerest teased.

Memphis huffed out a sigh that bordered on a growl, “Moira, if I could possess you, I would right now.” If there was a spark of darkness in his eyes, Moira didn’t notice it.

“But you can’t.” Moira teased again.

Memphis rolled his eyes and gestured at the kitchen door, ordering Moira to get in there. Moira simply laughed, murmuring ‘bossy’ under her breath as she passed by Willow and her friends.


	19. Demons are only ever semi-helpful...

Moira could sense the moment the door closed that Willow and the two Fae were hovering by the door. She nodded at the door, signalling Memphis to shoo them off before she spoke with him and Celeste. The Demon slipped over to the door, opening it enough that he could see his employees. He ushered them over to a table away from the door before returning to the kitchen again.

“So, what’s up? Did you find anything?” Memphis asked.

“What did you see in the Hunter’s mind?” Celeste inquired.

Moira leaned against the edge of the preparation table. Her brows were furrowed as she thought. She looked up after a moment, “I saw ceremonies, a few random locations… Nothing concrete. Even in the end, the Hunter was not going to give in easily.” Her brows were knit, “I briefly saw a Dragon in the Hunter’s mind. I did not know that there were any Dragons on this side of the veil.”

Celeste looked absolutely confused, “There shouldn’t be? They haven’t bothered with Humans in eons.”

Memphis hummed to himself as he thought. He had walked the earth a great many times in innumerable bodies. He briefly walked the earth in the body of a sorcerer, back before what the Humans called ‘the Classical era’.

“I am familiar with them… Though not personally.” he admitted.

“What do you know of them?” Moira asked. Memphis could tell from the look in her eye that she was nothing but business at that moment.

Memphis pulled up a chair, motioning for the women to follow suit. This was going to be a long history lesson on Dragons and everyone had to settle in for it.

Memphis cleared his throat, “Long ago in an age of myths and legends in Human history, a small group of Dragons crossed over from Avalon into the Human world. At this point in time, Humans and Magicals mixed frequently. Looking for land, knowledge, power, and whatever else the Dragons desired, the Dragons came and became part of Human myths.

“They did not stay more than a couple hundred years or so before they decided to leave. It turned out that it was easier for them to hold power in Avalon compared to the Human world. Dragons are worshipped like gods by the Magical races. They are rare and incredibly powerful beings. Immune to all magic, they are nearly untouchable. They are also seen as harbingers of death and destruction though. The claws and fangs of a Dragon do not simply wound a Magical. They feed off their magic, consuming them alive until nothing remains.

“The advantage that Humans have, though, is that they are not beings made of magic nor are they as deeply tied to it as other races. This means that the Dragons are not nearly as dangerous to them. Once the Humans figured this out, groups would form to attack the Dragons and drive them off. A few Dragons were killed before the remaining ones decided to leave.

“Now, the Dragons are little more than all-powerful, worshipped beings that live in the various domains of Avalon. Most are simply passive observers now, bored after a long existence and eternal future. Some simply gather knowledge, others offer tasks and trials in order to test those that came to them, and others occasionally go to mingle among the other races. Coincidentally, this mingling led to the first Drake populations some ages ago.

“Very little is truly known about the Dragons aside from their obscene levels of power. Rumors have floated around that they are actually gods from another plane of existence entirely, some believe they can shapeshift, and others believe they are powerful grand Demons.”

“So… What’s the truth about their origins then?” Moira asked.

Memphis shrugged, “I’ve just shared a lot of knowledge with you guys. I think I deserve a break.”

The Faerest sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Men-” She caught herself mid-grumble. As frustrated as she was, she didn’t want to just give up his name so easily. Gods above, he was being difficult as ever. She would give him hell about that later. She took a deep breath, trying to process all of the new information. 

“So, there’s a chance a Dragon stayed behind.” she said, “Maybe the Hunters are after it?”

“They could harvest it for materials in order to make the ultimate magic-killing weapons.” Memphis nodded thoughtfully.

Moira shook her head, “I need to find out if this Dragon’s still alive, and if the Hunters have already started making weapons from its claws and fangs.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily, “But I don’t even know where the hell the Hunters are hidden in this city…”

Memphis stared off into the distance, deep in thought. “What if…” he began, “You let them come to you?”

Celeste nodded, “Word of a psychic Fae being in town has already spread to most of our kind within the city. Surely the Hunters know too.”

“Hopefully they would send one of their high ranking Hunters after me… They would be the most likely to know anything about a Dragon.” Moira nodded slowly. She glanced up slightly, “The Hunters are already watching this place and your employees. They might use them to try and lure me out.”

“Then you will be ready-”

“Menti, I will not use them as bait.” Moira’s voice was sharp. She paused, eyes widening as she realized what she had said.

Celeste glanced at Memphis. Clearly the older Fae did not know the Demon’s true name. She did not look too surprised by this revelation though. She looked over at Moira, “You know his name?”

Moira sighed weakly, “We have worked together in the past… In a sense.” She gestured vaguely with her hand, “I worked with someone he was possessing for a time.” She glanced at Memphis before looking back at Celeste, “I don’t trust many folks… I’ve seen enough intrigue among the Courts, and deception among magical mortals in this world… But I trust Memphis.”

“That still surprises the fuck out of me, by the way.” Memphis added, examining his nails.

“You haven’t been a threat to me yet… And like you said... You can’t possess me. Your power over me would be minimal at best.” Moira stated.

The Demon was silent. Their expression was flat, but it was clear that they were thinking and planning. He stood up after a moment, “My employees should know about this. For their own safety.”

Moira’s eyes narrowed, “You want to use them as bait for me.”

The Demon turned to her, voice stern, “Moira listen. You need to lure out powerful Hunters. The Hunters know you will be watching this place like a hawk. The best chance of you getting at any more Hunters, is by letting my employees help you. If there’s a Dragon involved, Willow would be the only one of us who wouldn’t instantly die from one of their weapons.” His shoulders relaxed slightly, “You trust me? Then trust that I am not suggesting this lightly. You take care of the Hunters. I will make sure my employees stay safe.”

Moira looked over at Celeste. The older Fae looked deeply concerned. She did not like the idea of anyone being used as bait, but at the same time Moira needed something to lure out the Hunters. Madame Celeste looked over at Moira, “If anyone is to help you, it has to be of their own choice.”

“Of course.” Moira nodded.

Celeste bit her lip. This did not sit well with her at all. She was silent for a long while, before finally nodding at Memphis, “Bring everyone into the staff room on the second floor. We need to have a serious talk.”


	20. Plan of Action

The kitchen door creaked open, revealing Willow, Savio, and Rayne, all waiting patiently on the other side. The Demon paused, a mildly tired look on his face. Of course they hadn’t listened to him. He simply gestured towards the stairs before heading towards the other half of The Blue Shoes.

The trio were the first ones to reach the second floor, where they waited for Celeste and Moira. The older women opened a door to a meeting room, motioning for them to enter first. Within a few minutes, everyone had gathered in the room.

Moira and Memphis were the ones who explained the situation to everyone. There were Hunters in the city, possibly with a captive Dragon and Dragon-based weapons. In order for Moira to find out more, she needed to lure out more Hunters, preferably higher ranking ones who might be more informed.

“You need some of us to volunteer.” Nina said at the end of the explanation.

“Memphis and I would ensure your safety.” Moira began when Savio cut in.

“Why not use his actual name?” Savio stated firmly, casting a sharp look at Memphis, “Eh, Menti?”

The Demon returned the young man’s sharp look, “Unless you want to make a deal with me, boy, you don’t need my real name.”

Moira stepped in quickly, explaining that Demons rarely gave out their true names. Even her saying ‘Menti’ was not truly his name. It was more of a nickname she had for him.

Rayne was the next to speak, her voice as strong as her will, “I’ll help you.”

“Rayne, no-” Celeste began.

“Auntie, please.” Rayne practically begged, “The Hunters will notice me sooner than anyone else. I’m the best kind of bait-”

“Please, don’t call yourself bait.” Moira requested. She was still visibly unsettled with the idea of using anyone to lure out the Hunters.

“It’s true though.” Rayne stated, “The Hunters are more likely to come out of hiding to finish me. I’m probably the best chance you have right now.”

“You’re hurt. We aren’t letting you do this alone.” Willow said.

“I agree.” Savio said, earning nods of agreement from his friends.

“Two Fae and a meddling Human sympathizer would be tempting for the Hunters.” Memphis said with a small grin, “Plus it would be more likely that we get multiple Hunters, or a high ranking one.”

Moira was silent. More Fae, or hell more Magicals in general, would make them better for luring in Hunters… Though that itself carried a lot of risks. More targets to watch out for, more potential dangers for the younger Magicals and Willow…

“Memphis is right. The more targets, the better. Plus, Rayne and I escaped that first Hunter. I’m sure they’ll want to have another shot soon.” Willow said, cutting through the silence. 

Moira looked at Celeste. The older Fae woman looked torn and distraught. “Rayne.” Moira said, looking over at Celeste’s niece, “I want you to really think this over. If you are so sure, and you are willing to trust Memphis and I, then I will use your help… But please, think about this.”

Rayne looked at her aunt, “I know you are scared for me, but please. Trust me. Trust me when I say I know I can trust Memphis and Moira.”

Celeste was quiet for a long while. She looked at the worn carpeting, eyes shut tight before she finally looked up, “I do trust you, my sweetheart…”

It appeared that Rayne, Willow, and Savio would be the ones to act as lures the following night. In the meantime Moira asked that anyone else who could, that they help her in getting more information on any new groups that had roamed into the city.

Vilis had commented that the Hunter’s emblem was still being held somewhere in The Blue Shoes. Perhaps Moira would be able to use it in order to divine some extra information in the meantime? His father back home was well-studied in the art of using molten metal for divination purposes. He’d learned some tricks from his father and could potentially help Moira with the process.

Moira accepted Vilis’ offer with many thanks. Celeste explained that they could use the basement for the divination ceremony and melting of the emblem.

For everyone else, Moira suggested they try and stick close to The Blue Shoes for the next little while. It might not have been ideal for them, but it helped her keep an eye on them and any potential dangers. Plus, if on the off chance the Hunters did decide to attack The Blue Shoes, the more Magicals there were, the better it would be for fighting them off. Moira assured them though, the chances of that were minimal. The Blue Shoes was too large and visible a location to mount a real attack without having every cop in the city on them within minutes.

With that, everyone was dismissed from the room, leaving Moira, Celeste, and Memphis behind.

Moira turned to Celeste, her voice soft and gentle, “I understand your fear… I hope you and Rayne can talk more about this. I want her, hell, I want all of them, to have plenty of time to really think this over.”

“I trust Rayne will be careful… And I know you two will keep them safe… I just worry… She’s my only real family left.” Celeste replied, voice quiet and full of pain.

“Celeste.” Memphis said, walking over to the woman and bending slightly so he could look her in the eyes, “I promise you, I will not let anything happen to Rayne. You have my word as a Demon. No deals, no tricks, just my word.”

“I trust you.” Celeste said, looking over at Moira, “Both of you.”

“We won’t let you down.” Moira replied.


	21. That's really bad...

Divination was something well outside Moira’s usual set of skills. It wasn’t an easy process as far as she knew. It took a lot of concentration and a strong connection with light or fire-based magics. Some people that used shadow magic were able to get visions while dreaming, but even that was outside Moira’s abilities.

Vilis had been working diligently to set up the divination ritual and furnace to melt the metal emblem. Everyone had gathered in the basement in order to watch the process in action. On the opposite side of the room, well away from the ritual site, sat Vilis’ friends. They all looked mystified. Nina and Blake had heard many stories of Vilis’ father using divination rituals, but they’d never seen it themselves. Vilis himself looked rather worried as he kept going over the process, checking each step to make sure he’d gotten it right. Whenever he started to get too tense, Nina and Blake would cheer him on and give him a little confidence boost to continue on.

“They are an amazing bunch.” Moira observed with a smile, leaning against the wall of the basement.

“Yeah, they’re pretty okay.” Memphis replied with a shrug.

“I want to adopt them.”

Memphis snorted, “By all means, take ‘em. I could use them being out of my hair for a bit.”

“Please. You care about them.” Moira smirked, voice hushed.

“And what, pray tell, gave you that idea?”

“Let’s see…” Moira mused, examining her nails, “You are surprisingly patient with Savio, despite you two really not getting along,” she nodded at Celeste, who was standing with Rayne and the others, “I saw that you care about Celeste’s wellbeing and actively want to keep the kids safe,” she smirked, “Plus I heard about you trying to take care of Willow.”

Memphis frowned and folded his arms across his chest. “I just don’t want to deal with any more nonsense than I already have to.” he grumbled.

“Yuh-huh.” Moira smirked and rolled her eyes, turning to watch Vilis finishing up the ritual site, “Of course.”

“Listen you-”

“It’s ready!” Vilis declared, taking a seat in front of the small melting furnace. He crossed his legs, hands outstretched towards the immense heat of the furnace, “Just sit back. This might take a minute. Whatever you do, don’t touch me or disturb the site.”

No one even dared to speak as Vilis began focusing on the flames and heat. His eyes focused on the flames for a few minutes before glazing over as he entered a trance. His breathing was steady and posture relaxed. Save for a few twitches of his fingers in time with the lapping flames, Vilis was still as stone. 

Within the furnace the medallion melted down into a puddle of liquid gold. A faint hissing growl came from the furnace, as if something was being disturbed from its rest. Memphis’ eyes narrowed as he stepped away from the wall to get a better look.

Celeste moved closer to the rest of Vilis’ friends, tense and bracing herself for what would happen next. Moira stepped away from the wall, taking a step towards the furnace. She remained outside the site, but tried to peer into the furnace as the hiss grew louder.

The metal bubbled and popped. Erupting like lava from a volcano. Long arms of metal and fire reached forward. A hulking mass of a body oozed forward. A vicious, serpentine head stretched out from a long neck.

The hulking mass loomed over Vilis, molten metal dripping around the Elf, before the metal and flames began to settle into a Dragon-like form.

Moira stumbled backwards, eyes wide with fear. On the other side of the room, Savio had his arms raised above his head and his body bent over as if to protect himself. Memphis even let out an instinctive growl as he looked up at the molten Dragon.

A molten claw reached down, as if offering something to a figure who was not there, “Hunters… Strong and proud. Nobles of Human-kind…” Its mouth did not move, but its voice was loud and rolled like thunder, “This is my pact… Together, we rid this world of the corruptions that taint your kind, that change them into vile creatures of magic… Creatures that spread like a plague and desecrate all they touch… You free me… and I will help you end them all.”

There was a long pause. The Dragon’s head tilted as if listening to an unheard voice. The Dragon’s head lifted slightly, a long breath coming from its nose. “This is our pact. Power for freedom… If you can handle my power that is.”

Again it paused to listen to a voice. The maw of the Dragon opened, curling slightly into what everyone could only guess was a smirk. “Bold…” The Dragon hissed, “Let’s see how far that carries you, my Hunter.”

With that the molten Dragon oozed back into the furnace before vanishing in an explosion of energy.

Vilis blinked a few times before flinching away from the furnace. The flames soon died out, signalling the ritual had run its course. “What was that…?” Vilis gasped for breath.

“Big trouble.” Moira stated.


	22. He puts the ass in astral projection

Willow watched as Moira slammed her cellphone down on the table. If anyone had been in the bar, the gesture surely would have drawn eyes. The Faerest had left a short message on someone’s answering machine about what she had just witnessed. When she asked the Faerest if they should wait for help, Moira simply shook her head. They needed information, and fast. The sooner she could dig up anything that could help her and her colleagues find the Dragon, the better.

Despite everything that had happened, Willow, Rayne, and Savio still wanted to help with luring out the Hunters. Vilis and the others opted for more covert, research-focused methods to help Moira. Vilis had already tried making contact with some family back in Avalon to see if they could help out at all, though he’d had no luck so far.

Memphis sat up straight in one of the bar’s booths. He had an idea. He leaned back, resting his head on the top edge of the booth’s seat, an easy feat for someone as tall as he was. “Hey, keep an eye on my body, ‘kay?” Memphis said, his eyelids drifting shut.

“What’s he doing?” Willow asked, giving Savio and Rayne a curious look. Neither Fae knew what exactly their boss was doing.

After a few moments Memphis gave a soft exhale and went limp. Willow watched as Moira’s eyes narrowed, the Faerest eyeing Memphis’ body closely before wandering over. She placed a hand on Memphis’ wrist, two fingers curling around and pressing the artery to check for a pulse.

“What are you doing…?” they all heard her mumble.

Slowly, a form materialized behind Moira, like someone had decided to project a hologram of Memphis. The Demon grinned as he leaned down and spoke in the Faerest’s ear, “Boo.”

Moira jumped slightly before shooting Memphis a sharp look. The Demon simply grinned more before turning to address everyone in the room, arms wide as if to display some impressive trick, “Not bad, eh?”

Willow blinked, “How’d you…. How’d you do that?”

Memphis chuckled, “This, my dear Human, is something Demons do. We project ourselves. I can’t touch anything… But I don’t need to to work my abilities.”

“You look the same as your regular body.” Savio commented, surprised but not exactly impressed.

Something in Memphis’ eyes flickered. Slowly he turned to look at the shadow Fae, a smirk ghosting its way onto his face. “Now… Why would I show you my real form?” he tutted, wagging a finger, “I like to keep that a surprise. If you ever see what I really look like, you’re either very lucky… or very unlucky.” His voice took on a slightly feral tone.

“Menti.” Moira cut in, drawing the attention of the Demon.

Memphis looked rather amused. If Willow had to guess, Moira was one of the few mortals who dared to challenge the Demon. The Demon grinned, sharp teeth flashing in the light before vanishing into the shadows with the promise of returning in no time.

Moira simply shook her head and took a seat beside Memphis’ body. It looked like Memphis could separate from his body for a time, but Moira seemed concerned with making sure Memphis had a healthy body to come back to. She checked his pulse and breathing at regular intervals. Willow and the others could practically keep time with the regularity of it.

 

***

 

Almost twenty minutes passed before Memphis’ body gave a slow, deep inhale. He sagged forward before opening his eyes and stretching. He grinned, a feral toothy grin. His voice was singsong, “I know where the Hunters are.”

“Where?” Moira asked, voice sharp and eyes hard.

“They should be a few blocks away now. If you go by Main, you’d probably spot them in the distance.” he explained, stretching again and flexing his digits.

Rayne stepped forward, looking at Moira, “What do you need us to do?”


	23. Goodbye for now

The instructions were simple. Rayne and Willow would wander down Main street. Savio would follow in the shadows with Memphis. As soon as the Hunters came into view, they would warn Rayne and Willow, who would then take a detour towards the Rideau Canal. The Canal was usually dark at night thanks to poor lighting. Plus the treeline helped obscure the view of those driving by on the adjacent streets.

If everything worked out, the Hunters would try to ambush Rayne and Willow. When that happened, Moira and Memphis would step in. At that point, Rayne, Willow and Savio would have to take cover.

It was simple… But very dangerous. Before they left the bar, Willow could have sworn she saw a glint of fear in Moira’s eyes. The Faerest did not like the idea of using the younger Magicals as bait or pawns. Willow simply gave Moira a smile, telling her that she had faith in the psychic Fae and the Demon. That seemed to calm Moira slightly. The Faerest gave a small smile and a nod, promising that she would not let anything happen to them.

And then the game began.

Rayne and Willow walked casually down the street, turning onto Main and heading towards the outskirts of the downtown area. Every so often they would hear Savio’s voice coming from the shadows. Memphis was nowhere to be seen, but neither Willow nor Rayne doubted that he was somewhere nearby.

They were a few blocks down Main when Savio’s voice whispered for them to move to the Canal route. Rayne and Willow adjusted their path, idly talking about the calm weather and possibly skating the next day. As they turned off of Main, out of the corner of Willow’s eye she spotted a small group of people in dark clothes wandering down Main. A cold shiver went up her spine, and she was certain it wasn’t because of the winter wind.

Willow could hear Rayne’s heart hammering in her chest. One Hunter was bad enough for them, but it looked like now they had three to deal with. Moira might have dispatched one Hunter easily, but they had no idea how she’d fair with three totally new ones.

 

***

 

Sure enough, Memphis and Moira had called it right… Though not in the exact way they had all hoped. 

The Hunters had circled around, one in front of Willow and Rayne, and one behind them on the path. The third Hunter emerged from the shadows of the trees, tossing a rather fearful looking Savio towards his friends.

“How’d you see me?!” Savio cried out as Willow and Rayne caught him.

The third Hunter simply tapped the emblem he wore on his long coat, “It’s amazing what you can see with a little help from a higher power.”

“Wha… What? Are you some kind’a, I don’t know, Jehovah’s witness or something?” Willow spoke up, voice much shakier than she had hoped.

The Hunter in front of them pulled out a gun and aimed it at them, “Where’s the other Fae?”

“What other Fae?” Rayne growled.

The Hunter behind them stormed forward, “No games! Tell us where she is. Now!”

Rayne leaned forward, voice seething, a sharp chime to their voice, “Fuck. You.”

The second Hunter narrowed her eyes and raised a fist. She didn’t get farther than that before one of the garbage cans on the edge of the canal was lifted up and hurled at her. There was a loud, echoing thud as the garbage can and Hunter were sent flying.

The remaining two Hunters spun around, searching for the one who’d thrown the garbage can. They didn’t have to look far. Moira was walking towards them, coming up behind the rest of the group to where the second Hunter had stood. She moved so she was standing in front of the young Magicals and Willow.

What happened next was a near blur for Willow, Rayne and Savio. The first Hunter fired her gun, an iron bullet bursting forward towards Moira’s chest. There was a blur, and then Memphis was beside Moira, hand outstretched and fist clenched around the bullet. Willow could only guess that a Demon possessing a body basically negated the usual limits of the human body. Or most of them, she thought as she caught a few drops of blood dripping from the Demon’s hand.

Moira clenched her hand, the barrel of the gun folding shut. This did not faze the Hunter, but it did seem to piss her off. For a brief moment their eyes locked. Moira’s eyes pulsed with energy as she tried to take hold of the Hunter’s mind. Her energy pushed forward only to hit a mental wall as the Hunter’s will resisted her. Something about the energy felt strange to Moira. Usually it was like hitting a solid brick wall when a Human resisted her magic. Just a sudden stop. This… This felt different. Like she was stopped by the heat of a roaring fire and something… empty?

Moira blinked, eyes flickering to the emblem on the Hunter’s coat. She could feel an energy coming from it, hot and cold at the same time. She nodded at the Hunter, “Looks like you guys got an upgrade.”

The Hunter sneered. She kept her eyes on Moira, “This is what happens when a Hunter truly knows how to use their blessing.” Her voice was almost casual, bored even, “Pity not all of us take to it. For some it’s… maddening.”

“Yeah, you lot are rather fucked up.” Moira stated, earning a furious glare from the Hunter. Moira waved the younger Magicals and Willow away. She kept her eyes fixed on the first Hunter, “Let's keep this simple. You’re going to tell me which woodpile you pests crawled out from, or I’m going to pull the answers from your head.”

The Hunter laughed, “You really are stupid, aren’t you? You can’t get into my mind.”

“Not with that emblem you got, no.” Moira stated.

Now, if the Hunters had not been so focused on Moira and Memphis, they might have noticed Willow, Rayne and Savio whispering to each other. They might have heard them conspiring. They might have anticipated an snowball being hurled at the first Hunter’s face by Willow. Then, perhaps, they might have noticed Savio slipping into the shadows of the trees before launching himself at the first Hunter, followed by Rayne who tackled the second Hunter and ripped his emblem from his coat.

As fast as they hit, they ducked back to safety. Rayne held the emblem in her hand, the gold metal glinting in the dull lamplight. Savio emerged from the shadows beside her, holding up another emblem with a satisfied grin.

There was a long pause as the Hunters realized what had happened. Memphis grinned broadly as he leaned towards Moira, “Okay. That just gave me all kinds of warm fuzzies.”

Moira let out a short chuckle, “Of course, ya pride Demon.” She smirked, “Told you, you like them.”

Moira glanced at the first Hunter. The first Hunter’s eyes flickered from Savio to Moira, her pupils dilating as fear hit her in the gut. Her eyes had locked with Moira’s. 

The Faerest’s eyes glowed with power as she attempted to take hold of the Hunter’s mind. Again there was a wall, but not as solid as before. Unlike a brick wall, this felt more like hitting a fence. There was some give, some resistance, but you could still get through if you had enough determination and the right tools.

Willow and the others watched as the first Hunter struggled to keep Moira out of her mind. The second Hunter moved to grab a blade from their belt but was tackled into the snowy bushes by Memphis. They didn’t know if the Demon was holding back so Moira could read their mind too, or if he was acting more like a cat with a mouse.

They watched as Moira’s expression relaxed in time with the Hunter’s body. It looked like she had gotten through. Moira’s eyes glowed steadily as she sifted through the Hunter’s mind. An occasional twitch of her finger and sharp exhale was the only indication that Moira had found some useful information.

A movement caught Willow’s eye. She glanced over and the third Hunter, who had previously been knocked out on the ground, had gotten up and had a blade drawn. The blade itself looked dark and oddly textured, like it was made of an animal’s claw.

“Blade!” Willow cried out.

Memphis’ head snapped up, his eyes locking on the Hunter that was charging at Moira’s back with the blade raised. He felt a pause in his chest as he saw the blade. He could feel the energy coming from it. Aether.

The glow was fading from Moira’s eyes as she released the Hunter suddenly. She was starting to turn, but wouldn’t have time to fend off the attack.

“Fuck.” Memphis growled. He swiped a claw across the second Hunter’s throat as he lunged forward.

He was a blur. In an instant he was between Moira and the Hunter. The impact pushed him into Moira, nearly knocking her over. She stumbled out of the way, moving to grab Memphis’ arm. She froze. Hand hovering in the air.

The dagger was lodged in Memphis’ chest. He gripped the Hunter’s wrist, keeping them from pulling away. A glow started to emanate from around the wound.

“Menti?” Moira’s voice shook.

The Demon grinned, “Ah, yep. Knew it. Dragon’s claw.” The glow grew brighter. He winced slightly, teeth grounding. He pulled the Hunter closer, whispering through clenched teeth, “Don’t work on Demons though.”

The light grew brighter and the air grew hotter. Memphis grabbed Moira’s arm and shoved her away towards the other Magicals and Willow. “Get back!” he ordered, his voice taking on a feral, unhuman roar.

Moira pushed everyone backwards, urging them to move as far back as possible. She looked confused and scared, eyes darting about. 

The light quickly engulfed Memphis and the Hunter before exploding out in a burst of light and heat and then imploding.

In a matter of seconds the air was still. Where Memphis had been standing was now a scorched circle of pavement. Even the Hunters had not escaped it.

Moira took a few shakey steps forward.

Willow stepped forward. She looked at Rayne and Savio, who were equally confused and scared. “Is… is he…?” she began.

It took Moira a few seconds before she blinked. She looked back at the group. She took a deep breath and began ushering them away, “We need to get back to the bar.”


	24. Waiting Game

“Where’s Memphis?”

Moira took a moment before meeting Celeste’s eyes. “He… was stabbed with a dagger made from a Dragon’s claw.” she said at last.

Celeste paled, “What? Ancestors…”

“He’s not dead.” Moira said quickly, earning confused looks from everyone in the room. Dragon’s teeth and claws were lethal to Magicals. The power of a Dragon-based weapon, aether as it was called, consumed magic. A Magical would basically be consumed alive by the aether if they were stabbed. Like an acid eating away at paper. That wasn’t what happened to Memphis though.

Moira explained what had happened when Memphis was stabbed. The idea of him bursting into a ball of energy and then imploding made little sense to the Magicals in the room, even less to Willow. 

“He was… banished, kind of. Demon’s aren’t Magicals. They work with aether, not magic.” She explained, eyes ghosting over everyone in the room, “Whatever the blade did to him… His body is gone but as a Demon he still exists. It might take him some time before he can project himself into this world again though.”

“Any idea how long?” Bruno asked.

Moira shook her head, “Hours? Days? Weeks? I don’t know. I’ve only seen something like this once before… But they were a bit different.”

“How so?” Blake asked.

“They had a body to regenerate.” Moira said simply.

“Wha-? That’s insane. What kind of creature can do that?” Blake gaped.

Moira shook her head. She wasn’t going to say more on the matter. She spoke again, her voice loud and clear, “Men- Memphis will be back… But in the meantime we have a new problem to deal with. I know where the Hunters are. It seems some of the Hunter leaders have gathered to plan their moves for wiping out Magicals within the city. They rented out the first floor of a lodge just outside of the city. It’s quiet and isolated… But the place is guaranteed to be guarded. With so many Hunters able to pick up on magic, none of us could get close to it without being spotted…”

“What about me? I’m not a Magical.” Willow said.

“I can’t send you in there alone.” Moira said, “Even if you got in… If something happened I couldn’t be certain that I could help you. A few simple Hunters? I can handle that. Hunters with experience who can use their blessed emblems? With some help, sure…. But a whole lodge of highly experienced, trained Hunters? I don’t have that kind of power-” Moira paused, eyes widening slightly. “Wait.” she breathed. Her eyes lit up as she spoke to herself, “I got an idea… Osriel is going to kill me.”

“Osriel?” Willow asked. That was a completely new name to her.

“Uh?” Moira looked up, “My, uh… Grandpa?” She saw the skeptical looks on everyone’s faces. She let out a small, slightly nervous chuckle, “An old friend who I’ve worked with in the past… He’s kind’a family to me I guess… Wouldn’t admit it, I think… But he’s kind’a like an Uncle.”

“Why would he be pissed? Are you thinking of doing something dangerous?” Willow asked.

Moira paused, thinking for a moment, and then shrugging, “Considering it’s me? Probably not dangerous… But I’m going to need Memphis for this, and that’s going to piss Osriel right the hell off.”

“What if Memphis isn’t back before the Hunters leave?” Celeste asked. A good point. If Moira needed Memphis, then he had to come back in a hurry. 

“They are in town for two more days while the rest of the higher ups fly into the city from other places across Canada.” Moira explained simply, “If… If Memphis is not back by then… I will need to alert the Courts in the province as fast as possible. I might be able to call Osriel for help, but I can’t guarantee how fast he could make it here, if at all. I can’t reach him at all for some reason.” Her brows knit, “If Memphis isn’t back, we need a new plan. I’ll alert the Courts and see what they can do. At that point I may be staying in Ottawa to protect the city, or I might be called back to Port Edwards. I don’t know right now.”

“So, we just wait?” Savio asked.

“For now… Yeah.”


	25. I have a plan

How long were they going to have to wait? 

Willow had struggled to sleep that night. The image of Memphis exploding in a ball of chaotic light and energy was etched into her mind. She awoke after a particularly blurry dream with a flash of light followed by a shadowy, ethereal figure emerging from the dust. The figure was… not particularly intimidating in appearance. Or at least not at first. They were an average height, not exactly tall. Their hair swirled around them like curls of smoke. They moved with quiet, confident steps. It was almost as if they were gliding across the ground.

The figure stopped and turned to look at Willow, eyes bright red and glowing. Their eyes flared slightly as they grinned. Long, sharp fangs flashed at Willow before the figure tore off, vanishing into another cloud of dust with a feral snarl.

She woke with a start, sitting up in her bed. Rubbing her eyes, she let her legs dangle over the edge as she oriented herself to reality. She was tired, but sleep was probably not on the agenda it seemed. Looking around the room she noticed the other two beds in the room were empty. She got up, slipping on her shoes, and made her way downstairs. The clock on the wall read about seven in the morning. She guessed she might as well make some coffee for anyone else who was awake. 

 

***

 

A full day had passed since Memphis was banished, and things were starting to get tense. Either he showed up today so Moira could get her plan rolling, or things were going to get a lot more complicated for everyone.

Downstairs Savio and Rayne were sitting with mugs of coffee, Moira sitting across from them at a table. It looked like none of them had gotten any sleep.

“Rough sleep?” Rayne asked, getting up from her chair.

“Yeah… Weird dreams.” Willow said with a yawn.

Rayne placed a hand on Willow’s shoulder, voice soft, “Grab a seat. I’ll get you some coffee.”

“Thanks, hun.” Willow said tiredly. She looked up suddenly, eyes wide with surprise.

Rayne simply laughed, “No problem, darling.”

Willow was silent as Rayne walked off into the kitchen. She stared in surprise before a quiet ‘aw’ snapped her from her thoughts. She turned and frowned at Savio, who was grinning knowingly. 

“Zip it.” she said.

“I said nothing.” he retorted with a grin and a sip of his drink.

Willow grabbed a seat beside Moira, watching as the Faerest kept checking for messages on her phone, opening and closing applications, and generally fidgeting with the device. The fidgeting continued, even after Rayne returned with the extra coffee mug.

“Can’t sleep either, eh?” Willow offered, pulling Moira from her thoughts.

“Mh? Oh. Yeah, no… I’ve had too much on my mind…” Moira admitted, setting the phone down. Her mug of coffee sat in front of her, a few sips missing but not much.

There was a long silence. Willow held her mug in her hands, enjoying the heat on her palms. “He’ll be back.” she said finally.

“You sure about that?” Moira asked, the edge of her lips tugging in a half smirk.

Willow shrugged slightly, “I just have a feeling.”

Savio chuckled, “What? Did you see him in a dream?”

“God no.” Willow began.

“Damn,” Savio shrugged, “Would’ve been great if you did. Good news for us, plus we’d know just how you are taking to the magic.”

Willow took a sip of her coffee. It was hotter than she anticipated but she still managed to swallow it. She cared more about getting her caffeine boost than a burnt mouth. “Nah, my dreams were just weird. It… started with some light like when Memphis was… banished. Then from the dust came this person… thing… Maybe another Demon? They looked at me and then took off out of sight.” Willow said, rubbing her eyes as she tried to remember the fading dream. She looked up, “Are dreams connected with some kind of magic?”

“So you know how Vilis was able to do that scrying? That’s light magic. Light magic, which works kind’a like fire magic and such, also allows a person to have visions and see the future… If they are good enough to use it. Shadow magic, well… We can get glimpses of the future, visions, or messages from dreams. There are dozens of myths and stories about why we can do this… blessed by the moon, a connection between night and spirits… I don’t know the exact reason for it though.” Savio explained. He looked up suddenly and smiled, “Damn, it would be great if you had a vision. Might mean you’ve got a connection with shadow magic! If that happens, I’m dubbing you my sister. Always wanted a sister about my age.”

“There’s a good chance for it.” Moira said with a smile. Sitting back in her seat, slightly more relaxed as she listened to them banter on. “You two are very close. Maybe some of his magic started to affect you first, and maybe you are just naturally compatible with shadow magics.”

 

***

 

Outside the streetlights were starting to turn off and the sun was rising in the sky. The morning were fairly quiet in the bar. They might get a handful of customers wandering in later in the morning. It was rare for anyone to come in first thing.

Rayne had flipped the sign on the door over so it read ‘OPEN’ before coming back to the table. On the other side of The Blue Shoes people were getting up and ready for the day. Vilis, Blake, and Nina were busy helping people set up and checking the equipment. Bruno had come downstairs for a small breakfast before alternating between helping in the burlesque and helping in the bar.

The bar itself was quiet and empty as Willow, Rayne, and Savio restocked and prepared the bar for the lunch rush. Moira had been shifting between checking her phone, and offering to help out wherever she could be used.

Aside from the dull noises coming from the other building, The Blue Shoes was almost unnaturally quiet. Everyone was on edge. Hunters running wild, a dwindling deadline, and the looming possibility of everything going to hell. It was hard to really shake the fear and uncertainty.

Willow had been busy restocking the bottles behind the bar when she felt a hum in the air. Like an electrical charge, only different. She looked at Savio, who was gaping at the door. She stood up, wondering what had gotten into him when she saw a familiar figure standing in the middle of the bar. Dark hair, classic red and black outfit, and a feral grin.

“Well, glad to see things didn’t fall to shit when I was gone.” Memphis grinned, arms open wide, “Miss me?”

“Memphis!” Willow cried out, smiling brightly.

The kitchen door was thrown open and Moira came rushing out. She looked relieved, and almost ready to cry. She rushed over, moving to grab his arm only to have her hand pass through it.

Memphis paused at the reaction. He looked surprised, but his expression quickly returned to an amused state, “Sorry, but the hugs will have to wait until I find a new host.”

“You’re an asshole.” Moira breathed, but it sounded more like ‘I was scared you weren’t coming back’.

“Yeah, that’s me. Best of the best.” Memphis winked, “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“The Hunters are gathering outside Ottawa today. Big meeting and plans for fighting Magicals in the city area… Possibly other areas too considering they got higher ups coming in from across the country.” Moira explained quickly.

Memphis paused. Then blinked. “Well. That’s fucked.” He folded his arms, “What now?”

“I have a plan.”

“As always.”

“Willow can help me get into the place… She can pose as a guest. Once she is in, she lets me in through a window so I can deal with the Hunters… Figure out what they are planning, where their Dragon is… All that fun stuff that isn’t potentially world shattering for Magicals.” Moira explained, gesturing to Willow behind the bar.

“Moi.” Memphis said, brows raised in a look of confusion, “You can’t take them all on your own.”

“That’s why I’ll need your help.”

Memphis froze, eyes shifting as he tried to read what Moira was thinking. He pursed his lips, a faint smirk tugged at the edge of his lips, “What do you mean…?”

“I want you to share your powers with me like-” She trailed off, but Memphis could easily fill in the last of that sentence. _Like you did with Osriel._

Memphis was still as he stared at Moira with consideration. Celeste, Nina, Blake, and Vilis had all wandered over into the bar when they heard Memphis talking. They too were frozen in place when they heard her request.

“With that power I could easily handle the Hunters!” she persisted.

“Moi-”

“Memphis, I need to stop those bastards and figure out what their next move is. I can’t do this alone, I know I can’t…”

Memphis was silent again. He sighed, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling. “In all the ages I’ve walked the earth… I’ve never had a mortal just ask to merge with me.” He looked at Moira, eyes contemplating and calculating, “This is dangerous.”

“I trust you.”

“I know.” he said, with a small smirk, “I know… But what I mean is, just giving you access to my powers is dangerous. Aether… It can change people. I’ve had some strong goddamn people, human, wizards, Elves… They’ve asked for my power… Not many could handle it.” It was hard to tell if Memphis was trying to scare Moira off or tempted her further.

“I’m willing to take that risk.” Moira said firmly.

Memphis shut his eyes as he thought about the offer. It was tempting. A willing mortal. A strong mortal at that.

Moira leaned forward on her toes, her voice almost teasing to try and lighten the tension. “It would piss of Osriel.” she said, trying to make it sound as tempting as possible.

It broke the tension a little bit. Memphis gave a short, small laugh. He looked at her, “Oh come on. That’s not fair. You know it’s too tempting to piss him off.”

“I know.” Moira said in an innocent voice.

Memphis shook his head, running a hand through his hair. He pursed his lips again, “Okay… Let’s say I give you my powers… Can you guarantee that you won’t try to tap into my full power? You won’t need much, trust me… And no mind reading.”

Moira nodded, eyes strong and determined, “You have my word.” She smirked, “And don’t worry… You know I’m too stubborn to let anything in this life or the next change me.”

“I don’t know if that’s comforting or concerning.” Memphis said with another small laugh.

Moira held out her hand, “We will share powers until I can stop the Hunters. I promise to not abuse your power, and you agree to not break my faith in you. Do we have a deal… Menticordon?”

Memphis looked at her hand pensively. He looked at her eyes and then sighed, “We don’t have much of a choice, do we Moira Woods?” He chuckled before looking at everyone that had gathered in the bar, “You guys are in for a treat.”

And then he grabbed her hand.


	26. Game Plan

Willow didn’t know what to expect. She’d seen hollywood portrayal of possession… but a mortal ‘merging’ with a Demon? That was something she never would have thought of.

As soon as Memphis, or Menticordon as it seemed his name was, grabbed Moira’s hand, his spectral form seemed to dissipate into a mist that engulfed the Faerest. Her head tilted back, eyes glowing a bright purple hue as the mist disappeared into her body, as if she was inhaling air. The room practically sparked with magical energy. The lights flickered and went out.

She then lurched forward, grimacing. Her form seemed to flicker. For a moment she looked like Moira, then she had long, feral fangs, then the fangs were gone and she had a set of long, curved horns. Her hands shifted between claws and human hands with abnormally long fingers. Even her hair changed between Moira’s usually short, fluffy hair and a ghostly version of Memphis’ own long, wavy locks.

Finally, the energy in the room settled. Moira seemed to settle back into her normal form. She was breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath. When she looked up again, she looked the same as before, but her eyes were… sharper with a reddish tint to her irises. They seemed to glow faintly in the dark before the lights turned back on.

“Moira…?” Willow began, “Are you… Okay?”

Moira’s expression softened, “I.. think so. It feels strange. Menti’s power is… I can’t really describe it.” She looked at her hands and flexed her fingers, tiny sparks of energy dancing along the tips. “I could do some damage with this.” she said after a moment.

Her expression turned sharp and in a mischievous voice that Willow was not wholly sure was Moira’s own voice, she chuckled, “Yeah. This is power.”

“I think Memphis was breaking through on that last one.” Savio said, keeping his distance from the newly possessed Moira.

Moira blinked, looking surprised for a moment. Then, as if someone whispered something in her ear, she relaxed a bit. She turned to address Savio directly, “Don’t worry. I have enough control that Menti can’t be a…” She chuckled, “‘Giant fucking ass’ as you put it?”

Savio froze. He eyed her suspiciously, “I thought you needed eye contact to read minds.”

This time when Moira spoke, her eyes were playful, but her grin looked mischievous, “Not anymore, it seems… Or at least when Menti and I are working together.”

Slowly, a smirk appeared on Savio’s face. Whatever he was thinking, it looked like he was trying to get some kind of reaction. 

Moira’s eyes flared with purple light for a moment. She quickly shut them and braced herself. She muttered something under her breath in the Fae tongue. After a few seconds she relaxed. “Savio…” her voice was controlled, “As much as I enjoy irritating Menti… I don’t think it’s a wise idea to poke fun at him while he has access to my powers.” She offered a small, amused smile, “Plus I’m the only one that can joke about him being a softy toffee… Not sure if that’s because he tolerates me, or if it’s because he knows he can’t really possess me like an average mortal.”

She rolled her shoulders. It seemed like Memphis was trying to get used to the new body. Unlike his former body, this one was much shorter and a fair bit rounder.

Willow’s eyes lit up. All she could think was how cool that transformation had looked. Moira seemed to pick up on the thought and smirk. Willow could guess that both the Faerest and the Demon were amused by the thought.

Moira’s hands clapped together once dramatically before she clasped them together, “Now that we have a fighting chance… Let’s plan some shit.”

That was probably Memphis. At least he seemed eager.

“A thought…” Willow said quickly, “What if any of the Hunters recognize me? If they were coming after Rayne and I before… Maybe some are specifically watching out for us?”

Moira grinned, “Not a problem!” she turned to Nina and Blake, “You two are good with makeup and costumes, yes? Think you can make Willow look a bit less like Willow?”

The Drake and Harpy jumped slightly as the Faerest-Demon addressed them. They both looked at Willow before nodding. Nina assured them all that within three hours she and Blake could have Willow looking different enough that people wouldn’t immediately recognize her.

Rayne was tasked with finding some blueprints online for the lodge. Maybe they could get a better idea of the layout of the building beforehand. Then Savio would know where the security office was so he could get in there later.

When Savio asked about any guards who would surely be in the office, Moira grinned a deep, dark expression. She simply stated to leave that to her… Or more likely Memphis judging from her expression.

The clock was on and they had only a matter of hours to get into the lodge. Everyone knew their jobs. They just had to hope that everything went according to plan.


	27. Into the Lion's Den

Willow could feel her heart hammering in her chest as the taxi drove up to the lodge. Moira/Memphis had given her money to cover the taxi and room rental for a couple days. They wanted to create the illusion that she could be staying for a few days over the break before she had to leave.

The makeup job Nina and Blake did was eerily amazing. When Willow had looked in the mirror she looked a few years older. They had even dyed her hair a deep, dark black-brown colour and put in extensions so they could style her hair in a messy bun. Willow could definitely see why so many of the performers loved working with those two. They worked magic with their makeup.

As the taxi pulled up to the large, wooden building that was the lodge, Willow pulled out some cash and handed it to the driver, telling them to keep the change. The driver looked pleasantly surprised, considering the ‘change’ was almost a fifty dollar tip. If they were curious about the large tip, they didn’t voice any concerns. They simply bid her a fun and restful vacation before driving off to get their next customer.

Inside the lodge workers were busy tending to a swath of visitors. All of them looked fairly formal and serious. Some were simply standing around in silence, waiting for the bellhops, while others idly chatted in hush tones. As she stepped into the lodge, the dull murmur of voices quieted for a moment. She felt like all eyes were on her. She bit back the rising fear and simply walked towards the desk with her suitcase. The murmur of voices returned a bit, but it was clear some people were still watching her closely.

The woman at the front desk was happy to get her checked in, saying they only had a handful of rooms left on the top floor of the building. Everything else had been rented out for the next day or so.

That was odd. It didn’t look like there were enough Hunters present to fill the entire lodge at the moment. Perhaps the other floors were covered in order to create a barrier between the Hunters and any other patrons staying in the hotel? Shaking off the thought, Willow gave her false name to the woman and requested a room. She complained how the last place she went too was fully booked. 

“I’m sorry, but we’ve had a policy update recently. Mind if I check your bag?” the woman at the desk inquired.

Willow looked confused but nodded still. She kept her voice cheerful, “Yeah, sure. Look away.” She lifted her suitcase up onto the desk.

She assisted the woman in moving items so she could examine the bag. After a thorough check, the woman nodded in satisfaction. Once Willow handed over some money, plus a sizeable deposit in case something happened to the room while she was staying in it, the woman handed over a room key and directed Willow to the elevator.

“Down the hall, take the elevator to the fourth floor, then head to your left. Your room will be on the left hand side of the hall. The kitchen and dining room will be busy tonight, but room service is available.” the woman explained with a pleasant, professional tone as if she wasn’t completely exhausted from a day of dealing with stuffy business types and rather shady individuals renting out most of the lodge.

 

***

 

The lodge was a huge, spacious building. As she made her way towards her room, she noted places of importance and people wandering the halls. The security office was located around the corner from the main lobby, halfway towards the elevators. On the first floor, people in long, dark coats seemed to wander around at steady intervals.

The fourth floor was quiet. Occasionally Willow would hear a television or people talking, but most of the rooms were completely silent. She made her way to her room, swiping her key into the slot above the handle and entering the room. The room itself was huge with two double beds. The carpet was plush and the curtains heavy in order to block out sunlight to ensure guests could rest at any time of the day if they wanted.

She set her suitcase down beside one of the beds and wandered over to window, pulling back the curtains to reveal a small patio space. She pulled the window open and left the curtains open a crack. Then she sat on one of the beds, flipped on the television, and waited.

It took about an hour, but eventually she heard footsteps on the patio. There was a faint breeze as the curtain was pulled back and then shut again. Willow looked over and greeted Moira. A moment later, Savio emerged from the shadows of the curtains and stepped into the room.

“How’d you get up here?” Willow asked. She had been told to leave the window open, but she didn’t know how exactly Moira was going to get inside.

“Flew.” Moira said simply, a giddy smile on her face.

“It was kind of cool.” Savio admitted.

“Wait, what?” Willow blinked.

Moira opened her arms slightly, lifting off the ground about and inch before gently setting herself back down. She grinned, her voice excited, “I could never do that before. Menti has a lot of knowledge in that noggin of his. I have an idea of how to levitate now… Not really fly, but it’s something. I’m definitely going to try practicing this more when I get home.”

Willow smiled. Moira seemed genuinely happy. “Think you can do it on your own?” she asked.

Moira nodded confidently, “Fairly sure I can with time. Menti seems to think so too.” She folded her hands together, “Okay. Anything we should know before we get this party going?”

Willow filled them in easily. The first floor was chock a block with people Willow guessed were the Hunters. It looked like two were guarding the main level hallway. The security office was a few paces down the hall from the elevator. The dining room area was not available to the public that night, so the Hunters were probably gathering there.

Moira grinned. “Excellent.” She pointed at Savio, “You. I’m going to need you and Willow to get into the security office and shut down the cameras.”

“Uhm. I don’t know anything about security camera systems.” Savio pointed out.

Moira wagged her finger, “I’ll tell you how to do it.” Her expression softened a bit and became more serious, “Here’s what I’ll be doing. When I tap into Menti’s power, it’s going to create a surge in the building, shutting down the power for maybe a minute. When that happens, I’ll take out the guards on the first floor. If the security guard comes out, which I am hoping they will do, I’ll knock them out and read their mind. I should be able to then tell you how to shut down the system. If not…” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny dart with a cap on the end of it, “I need you to prick the guard with this. It’ll knock ‘em out for short while. Then you let Willow and I in, I do my thing, and tell you how to shut down the system.”

Savio took the dart carefully, sliding it into his pocket. He nodded simply. He could manage with this task.

Moira pulled out a set of three earpieces. Each of them had an earpiece and, thankfully since all of them had jaw length or longer hair, the devices could be easily hidden. They would use them to stay in communication the entire time. She also had gloves for everyone. To avoid leaving any prints.

Once everyone had their earpieces in and activated, Moira looked at the pair, “Ready?”

“I think so.” Willow said, visibly nervous.

Moira set a hand on Willow’s shoulder. She offered a small smile. It was hard to tell if it was just Moira speaking, or Memphis as well. “Trust us. Everything will be okay. If I tell you guys to run, just run. Stay in the shadows. I’ll grab your bag before I leave to make it look like no one was ever in here.”

“What if someone sees us running off?” Willow asked.

Moira smirked, clearly Memphis had it covered. “We already informed some contacts to be ready for some… trouble in the area.” Moira said, a cunning look in her eye.

Willow took a deep breath. She was ready.


	28. Raising a Little Hell

The elevator ride to the main floor was the longest trip possible in Willow’s mind. She kept close to Savio, both of them watching as the floor numbers ticked down. As they reached the second floor, Moira told them to get ready.

The elevator pinged as it hit the first floor and the doors began to slide open. Moira’s eyes flared with energy, glowing an eerie shade of violet. Her body tensed, bracing herself as she tapped into Memphis’ power. The elevator door stopped halfway, the lights flickering in the hall.

There was a burst of light that emanated from Moira, the force of the energy released being enough to shove Willow and Savio against the wall of the elevator. When they opened their eyes it was pitch dark. The only light they could use was the inhuman glow coming from Moira’s eyes. 

Moira stood there, looking like a spectre. Her eyes glowed steadily, her skin almost translucent in appearance. Her hair, now much longer, floated behind her like smoke. She turned and looked at Willow, grinning a fanged grin, before vanishing into the hallway.

The pair waited in the elevator with bated breath. They heard the sounds of people shouting before being thrown into walls at either end of the hall. A door was slammed open, a male voice starting to shout only to be cut off.

A second passed. Then another. A light shone down the hall, followed by Moira’s voice in their ears telling them to hurry and come to her.

The pair emerged from the elevator, quickly rushing over to where she way. Moira handed them the flashlight she took from the guard. She pointed into the open door of the security room, “Idiot proof system. Password is ‘ServiceWithASmile’, first letters are capitalized, same with ‘A’, all one word. Once you are in, go into ‘security’ and locate ‘footage’ and just delete today’s stuff. They back up footage at midnight, so we don’t have to worry about backups right now. Then find ‘emergency shut down’. Hit that, and it’ll shut down the system completely until someone signs back in.”

They all froze as the lights flickered back to life. Moira pushed them into the office and pulled the door shut.

 

***

 

Willow and Savio looked around the office as the lights came back on and the screen hummed with energy again. Willow swung into the chair and signed in. As she searched through the files, she and Savio were able to watch as Moira made her way towards the dining area. She moved with graceful, quiet footsteps. If they hadn’t known better, they would have thought she was a ghost haunting the lodge.

As she moved from from the hall and into the lobby, she simply looked at the woman at the front desk. The woman paused, hand on the telephone, before sitting back down and leafing through the sign in book. She tore out a page and shredded it before turning her attention to the computer on the desk. She wasn’t doing anything on it. Just staring at the screen.

Moira then turned and began to walk towards the dining area.

Willow had managed to find the security footage section of the computer and purged it. Upon Savio’s suggestion, they double checked for any backups that might have been saved earlier. Thankfully there was nothing. 

Willow was just about to hit the emergency shutdown for the system when Savio let out a gasp. She looked up and froze. Moira had just walked into the dining area. Savio reached up for the volume on the screen that was showing Moira. It didn’t help any though. There were no words. Just Moira gliding forward, followed by everyone grabbing their weapons.

A gust of wind surged around Moira before exploding outwards, knocking all the Hunters and tables back against the walls. A few were knocked out, but others were starting to get back on their feet. One tried to shoot Moira, the bullet just grazing her arm. She simply glanced at the Hunter, raising her hand up and then, with a flick of her wrist, sent the Hunter flying through a window.

A bright light began to emanate from Moira. Willow and Savio had to look away, the light was almost blinding on the screen. There was another surge of energy, this time the entire building shook and the lights went out. The pair could hear people running down the hall and doors being opened on the main floor.

After another minute, the cameras came back to life. Moira stood in the dining area, looking around at all the fallen Hunters. Willow and Savio watched in awe. She’d taken them all out. There was no way of knowing if any of them were still alive, though.

On the screen, Moira made her way towards the Hunter that had be sitting at the front of the room. She knelt down and placed a hand on his forehead.

On the other screens, Willow could see other Hunters running towards the dining area with weapons drawn.

“You got visitors!” Willow said, the earpiece picking up her voice.

Moira glanced up on the security screen. “Got it. When it is safe, go up to the room and use the shadows to escape. If you see anyone, tell them to stay upstairs. Say it’s people fighting downstairs and to call the police. I’ll meet you back at the bar.” her voice was almost a whisper.

“Got it.” Savio replied, reaching over the keyboard to do another file purge and then activate the emergency shutdown.

The pair watched as all the screens winked out and the office fell into silence. Savio motioned for Willow to wait as he slid into the shadows and under the door. After a moment he opened the door and waved for Willow to follow.

They raced down the hall towards the stairs and made their way up to the fourth floor. Sure enough, as they reached the third floor they ran into a group of young adults who were on their way downstairs, all looking concerned or irritated. 

One of them started to ask what the hell was going on, but Willow cut them off. She moved to urge them back up the stairs, “Back up!” her voice was urgent, “People are fighting. I don’t know what’s going on but we need to get upstairs!”

One of the guys in the group swore, pulling out his phone. He was already calling the police as he and his friends rushed back upstairs, Willow and Savio following close behind.

Willow and Savio rushed past the group towards the room Willow had rented. They could faintly hear gunshots going off on the main floor. It was only a matter of time before the police showed up. 

Willow jammed her keycard into the slot in the door, shoving it open so they could get out of the hallway. She left the card in the slot so Moira could get in easily. Willow and Savio stepped out onto the patio. In the distance they could see the red and blue lights of police speeding towards the lodge.

Savio grabbed Willow’s hand and told her to hold on tight. She would be safe, she just had to trust him to guide her through the shadows. She nodded quickly and felt herself being pulled into the shadows.

 

***

 

Moving in the shadows was a weird feeling. Everything was slightly dim and it felt as if she was floating. She could see Savio fairly easily in the shadows, his green eyes glancing back at her every so often to make sure she was doing okay as he guided her along.

One thing about ‘shadow walking’, as Savio would later call it, was that it allowed you to move extremely fast. Upon leaving the lodge, it felt as if they had floated down the side of the building before being whisked off into the shadows of the trees behind the lodge.

The sun had already set, so the trip back into the city felt like being on a motorcycle that coasted easily through any terrain. It was only when they reached the city where lighting was more abundant that their trip slowed down.

Following the alleys, backyards, and parking lots behind the buildings, Savio managed to guide them into the alley beside The Blue Shoes. Savio pulled them both from the shadows, which felt as if they gently touched the ground and could just walk again. They hurriedly entered the bar and were greeted by the shocked and relieved expressions of their friends. Bruno, who had been waiting by the door, scooped the pair up in an embrace, relieved to see they had made it back safe.

Next came the questions. What happened? Where was Moira and Memphis? Were the Hunters still out there? They heard the police had been scrambled. The news was already broadcasting something going on at the lodge.

Celeste cut in, silencing the questions as she motioned for Willow and Savio to take a seat. First, they needed to rest. They had been through so much, they needed time to decompress and orient themselves again. Then, and only then if they were ready, could people resume bombarding them with questions.


	29. No Rest for the Wicked

Everyone in the bar had gathered around to listen to Willow and Savio. It took some time, but Willow and Savio were able to explain everything that had happened. It still felt like a blur to them though. No one could believe that Moira had been able to take out an entire room of Hunters so easily. The very idea frightened them really. Blake had commented that they were glad Moira was on their side.

“I’m just glad you guys are back.” Rayne said, visibly relieved. She had sat with Willow and Savio, tending to them since they had returned.

The bell above the door rang as someone pushed open the door.

Moira stepped in, looking rather exhausted but also like her old self, hauling Willow’s luggage behind her. She gave a tired smile, “It’s easy to sneak shit away when everyone running around and chaotic.”

Celeste caught the exhausted look in Moira’s eyes. The Faerest-Demon looked a little shaky on her feet. Celeste quickly ushered everyone to the other building and up to a room with some beds.

 

***

 

The moment they entered the room, everyone took a seat either on one of the beds, one a chair, or grabbed a seat on the carpet. Moira, however, shakily made her way to a bed and collapsed onto it. She rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.

A mist slowly rose from her body before settling into the form of Memphis standing beside the bed. He pumped a fist in the air, “That was fucking awesome! Did you see the looks on their faces?”

Moira gave a tired chuckle, “We were badass.” She turned to look at Willow and Savio, “We couldn’t have done it without you two. Thanks a million.”

Willow and Savio gave her a thumbs up. Willow shifted to the edge of the bed she was sitting on, “Are you okay, Moira?”

“Yeah… I just… Need some rest.” the Fae replied, letting her eyes close, “It was a big drain on me.”

Celeste dragged a chair over to sit between the two beds. “I know you need to rest, but I have to ask… Is it over?”

Moira smiled and nodded, “It’s all good. I made sure they’ll leave the city alone.” She gestured vaguely with her hand, too tired to do much else, “The Hunters that survived… I wiped their minds and altered their memories. Some will be kept with the police as they try to figure out what happened, the rest will go back with no real memories of what happened. As far as they will remember, some of their own crumbled under the power of their ‘blessed emblems’ and went crazy, attacking anyone and everyone.”

“Why not just kill them all?” Savio asked.

“That would only draw more attention. The Hunters would be all over this city like bears to honey.” Moira explained, pulling herself into a sitting position, “This way… The Hunters don’t have a reason to suspect direct intervention by a psychic Fae or anything. It’ll put them on guard for sure, but they already know that their own can succumb to the Dragon’s power and go wild… It’ll be an easier explanation for them to accept.

“And the ones in police custody?” Rayne asked.

“The police can use them to track where some of the Hunters gather. It’ll help other Courts figure out where they need to start being more watchful.” Moira explained.

Memphis crossed his arms and glanced off. Looking a bit irritated by something.

Moira’s eyes flickered to him and she instinctively kicked at his leg, “I don’t care how easy it would have been, I wasn’t going to wipe them all out.”

Memphis stumbled from the impact. He looked up at Moira. He was genuinely surprised. “What?” he asked.

“You said we could have just wiped them all out and been done with it easy.” Moira frowned.

“No, no.” Memphis said, “I  **thought** that. I didn’t  **say** it.”

Moira furrowed her brows, “No. I heard you.”

“He… didn’t say anything, Moira.” Willow said, her voice rather concerned.

There was a long silence. Moira and Memphis just stared at each other.

“Fuck.” they both said in unison.

“Hold up.” Memphis said. He reached over and flicked Savio on the forehead, earning a yelp and dark look from the young Fae. Though it was probably satisfying for the Demon, he still rushed from the room to test something else out.

Willow and Savio exchanged confused looks. She got up and peeked down the hall to see Memphis grabbing at a doorknob only to have his hand pass through it.

Memphis wandered back into the room. He was silent and still rather surprised looking. He slowly made his way back over to Moira, plopping himself down on the bed.

“What the fuck is going on?” Savio asked, understandably irritated by Memphis’ erratic reaction.

Memphis shifted his gaze to Savio, and then to Celeste and the others. “I’m not supposed to be able to touch anything.” Confused looks met his gaze. “Demons… Aren’t physically present in this world. We only… project ourselves. Yeah, I guess that’s a way of looking at it. We need a body or host in order to do anything physical in this world.”

“So… What just happened?” Willow asked.

Moira and Memphis exchanged looks. The Demon turned to look at everyone, “We imprinted.”

There was a chorus of ‘what?’ from a few of the people in the room. Celeste looked at Memphis with wide, surprised eyes.

It took some explaining, but even then Memphis could only provide a general answer. In his experience, he’d only seen imprinting a few times in the last couple thousands of years. Imprinting, to the best of his knowledge, was a link created between a Demon and a mortal. How and why these links occurred was unknown. It could have been power related, bond related, or completely random because sometimes the worlds and whatever powers that existed just said ‘fuck it, sure’.

The end result of the imprint? The mortal could commune and connect with the Demon’s aether… Their energy and lifeforce… and the Demon had a sort of ‘anchor’ in the mortal world. Wherever the mortal was, the Demon could physically be… But there were limitations to how far the Demon could be from their anchor before they no longer could physically impact the world.

Everyone looked at Moira after the long explanation.

Moira ran a hand through her hair. “Osriel is gonna kill us.” was all she said.

“Kill  **me** .” Memphis corrected, “Not you. He seems to like you well enough as an apprentice.”

Moira leaned back against the head of the bed. She shut her eyes tight, “I need to get back to Port Edwards soon. The news vans were already at the lodge when we left… I’m going to be hearing from Aunt Catherine and Osriel soon about that, I just bet it.”

Moira got up and excused herself to use the bathroom. She need some time to digest all of this information. She left her phone on the bedside table and left the room.

Memphis leaned back on the bed and gave a long sigh through his nose. It looked like he had not been expecting this at all. He turned to Celeste, saying they would need to talk that night and figure out what was going to happen next with the bar.

By the time Moira had returned, Celeste had ushered everyone from the room. Willow had bid Moira goodnight before leaving to another room so she could sleep. 

That night, despite the fact that everyone had their own beds and rooms, everyone piled into the room Willow and Savio were sharing. People were either piled together on the bed, or they had their pillows and blankets to sleep on the carpet.

Nina, Blake, and Vilis were both cuddled around Willow and Savio. Rayne rested beside the bed, head propped against the mattress with Willow holding her hand. Willow let her head rest on Blake’s feathery arm. She was so tired. She felt like she could sleep for days.

She let her eyes drift shut, listening to the soft breathing of her friends. Despite all the chaos that had happened in the last twenty-four hours alone, she felt peaceful and safe. Whatever the future held, at least everyone was safe.


	30. Epilogue

The morning was bustling as per usual. Everyone had returned to their usual routines, eager to get back to their normal lives again. Willow, Savio and Rayne had been busy in the bar when Memphis called everyone in for a staff meeting. Everyone, including Moira, had gathered in front of the stage where Memphis and Celeste were standing.

Memphis greeted everyone in his usual, cheerful fashion. “Okay, I know we don’t usually do these structured meetings too often, so I’m going to keep with short and sweet. First of all, you are all a fantastic bunch and I have been thrilled to work with you. As far as mortals go, you’re not a bad bunch. Even you, Savio… Though you are still a little shit.” he grinned, “That being said… I’m going to be stepping down as co-owner. I think it’s time for me to move along. There’s so much to do, things to see, and all that good stuff… And I can’t seem to leave a certain Faerest on her own without her getting into some kind of trouble.”

Everyone looked at Moira, who simply chuckled, “It’s a perk of the job.”

Memphis grinned at the staff, “Now. I’m going to need someone to take my place when I leave. It was a hard decision… The bar needs someone smart, personable, and an all around great and wonderful individual-”

“Why did it have you then?” someone asked aloud, earning a round of laughter and applause.

Even Memphis laughed. “Yeah, yeah. Smartasses.” he chuckled, “So! I thought who could properly run the bar so I don’t need to come back and kick anyone’s ass? And, after long deliberation… I’m handing the bar over to Rayne.”

The room erupted in cheers. Rayne looked completely surprised.

“Don’t look surprised! You have the background for it, and you take care of the place like it was your home.” Memphis said casually, “I already have everything together, just need you to sign off on some things. Yada-yada, you know all that business bullshit.”

“I- Thank you! Really! Thank you!” Rayne beamed.

“I’m proud of you.” Willow whispered to Rayne, earning a blush from the spider Fae.

“For everyone else, I’m throwing a party! We’re closing up early tonight and going to have a hell of a party! If today’s my last day here, I sure as fuck don’t want to be working all day. How about you?”

Everyone cheered in response.

“Fucking right! Now, I got shit to do. Rayne, you come with Celeste and I. Everyone else, you know your routines!” With that, Memphis leapt off the stage and moved towards a door leading backstage where the offices were kept.

 

***

 

Back in the bar, Moira was helping everyone clean up. She had left her phone on the bar’s counter while she swept the floors. At one point her phone began to ring, playing an energetic song by a Puerto Rican artist that Willow was fairly certain was now a meme online.

Moira caught the look Willow and Savio were giving her and laughed, “Can you get that?”

Willow nodded and picked up the answer, hitting the ‘answer’ button on the screen, “Hello? This is Moira’s phone.”

There was a pause. A voice spoke up, it sounded like an older male. The voice was a bit rough sounding, like fine sandpaper. Not that coarse stuff. “Who is this?” the man asked.

“Willow. A friend of Moira’s. And you?”

“.... This is Osriel.”

“Oh! Moira’s grandpa!” Willow said.

Moira dropped her broom and went running over to grab the phone. She looked like she was trying not to laugh. She took the phone from Willow as she handed it off. Moira then hit the speaker button, “Hey Os! It’s Moira. About gods damned time you got back to me.”

“...Grandpa?” was the only response. His voice was deadpan.

“Well, in my defense I corrected it to Uncle.” Moira said casually.

There was silence on the other end. It sounded as if the man had set down the phone and walked away. Willow could faintly hear the man speaking to himself on the other end saying “Grandpa? Uncle? I’m a mentor if anything…”

Eventually he came back to the phone, his voice more professional as he spoke. “What is going on in Ottawa? I got your messages, and now on the news I’m seeing that there was a fight at a lodge.”

“Well, suffice to say shit hit the proverbial fan. I had to get into the lodge and stop a building full of Hunters before they could make plans to go after Magicals in the city.” Moira explained.

“They were gathering to make an attack?” Osriel sounded rather concerned under his gravelly, serious tone.

“They’re working with a Dragon. I managed to read the mind of the person in charge at the lodge meeting. I know where to go next, but I want to meet with you first. We’ve got some things we need to plan, and I need to speak to the Court in Port Edwards.” Moira said, leaning on the bar and speaking into her phone.

Again there was a long silence. “Okay.” Osriel replied, “When will you be back?”

“Give me two days.”

“Got it.” he replied, followed by, “I am afraid to ask… But how did you do it?”

Moira pursed her lips. “Well, I couldn’t get a hold of you, so I used what was at my disposal.”

“Which was…?”

“A rag-tag group of young misfits and a Demon.”

It sounded like Osriel dropped his phone. There was a staticky sound as he picked it back up, “Don’t you dare tell me-”

“Menti and I will explain when we get back.”

“Moira! Don’t you hang up-!”

“Talk to you soon, grandpa!” she said with a wink to Willow before hanging up. She set the phone down and was silent for a moment. “Oh fuck, I’m going to hear about this when I get home.” she murmured, “Fuck it. I couldn’t reach him and shit needed to be done. He can just cool his heels until I get back.”

“This Osriel guy doesn’t like Memphis, does he?” Willow asked, resuming her organizing of the bar’s stock.

“Nope. I mean… They can manage with each other, but they aren’t exactly friendly with each other.” Moira said.

“And you’re his apprentice?”

Moira shrugged, “Yeah, kind’a. I work for the Court, but he’s teaching me how to freelance for Magicals once I am free from my contract.”

Willow set a new bottle up on the wall behind the bar, “What will you be doing now?”

“Returning home, meeting with my Court, and then moving on to my next task.” Moira shrugged, walking over to the broom she’d dropped.

“You’re going after this Dragon, aren’t you?”

Moira was silent as she resumed sweeping, “Perhaps. I need to get some things in order first… and my Court needs to allow me to do it.”

“Allow you?” Savio asked, incredulous, “You can’t just do what you want?”

“Court members need to be very… tactical. If I’m going to be travelling all over the place to do this, I need to be sure they won’t just call me back for no reason.” Moira admitted, “It’s… a complicated system. I don’t really care for it and will glad when my contract is done.”

“Moi! I need your butt in my office! We got tickets to plan!” Memphis called out, “Having some trouble with the computer if ya get my drift!”

Moira shook her head and sighed, “I better go help him before he has a temper tantrum.” She winked, “Demons can be such fuss pots.”

“I hear that shit!” Memphis called out again.

Moira rolled her eyes and looked as if she was thinking of a snappy response.

Memphis was silent for a moment before calling out yet again, “Now that’s not very ladylike... I’m so proud!”

Moira shook her head and laughed, “Take care, Willow. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed it.  
> If you would like to see more about Across the Veil: Open Eyes (and future stories such as Aross the Veil: Faerest One which I am currently working on the first draft of), please feel free to check out my other social media like deviantArt and Tumblr!
> 
> Also, if you are on Wattpad, expect to see me posting chapters there starting September 6th!
> 
> (links can be found on my profile!)
> 
> Thank you again and stay magical my friends!


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